A Postcard From Waco
4/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 20, 2003
A warm (and humid) welcome from central Texas...
After two days of strong winds blowing out from Baylor Ballpark toward the winding banks of the Brazos River, Easter morning dawned with the American flag turned inward, which will surely be a welcome sight for Sunday's starting pitchers.
The previous two days, Baylor and Missouri demonstrated why the nationally ranked schools boast the top two team batting averages in the Big 12. Fifty-five runs, 64 hits and 115 total bases have produced one win apiece for Tim Jamieson's 23rd-ranked Tigers and Steve Smith's 16th-rated Baylor ballclub.
Away from the ballpark, a couple of anniversaries with local interest have passed. Ten years ago this weekend, federal agents raided a compound located about 10 miles away run by Branch Davidian leader David Koresh. As it was then, it seems as though the regional and national media have more interest in the story than the locals.
Early Sunday, before the team gathered for breakfast, Steve Davis, the father of sophomore OF Bo Davis, gave a stirring Easter-morning talk to the team. Steve quarterbacked the Sooners to the 1974 and '75 national football titles, and provided his experiences as a player and broadcaster to the current Tigers.
Invoking the title track to CBS' coverage of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, Davis encouraged the players to continue their search for their "One Shining Moment." Every successful team has one; Davis recounted that his as a player actually came in a loss to Kansas when the Sooners were ranked No. 1 in the country. The team was able to regroup, refocus, and bounce back to win the national title.
What will be this team's shining moment? Was it the come-from-behind win at Nebraska a Friday ago? Was it both of the come-from-behind losses to the Huskers that followed the following two days, or in a home loss to in-state rival Southwest Missouri? Perhaps it came in Saturday's 23-18 slugfest, when seldom-used junior righty Mark Alexander didn't allow a hit in three innings of relief before his arm tired.
Baylor has taken the field with their "Champions Gold" uniforms on, signifying their ability to win a series. One shining moment may take place on Easter Sunday, propelling the Tigers to even bigger and betters moments to come.
