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USF Summer Baseball Blog No. 19 - Joe Oropeza
July 17, 2009
Junior right-hander Joe Oropeza writes in from Loraine, Ohio, where he is pitching for the Northcoast Knights of the Prospect League.
I am playing summer ball in Lorain, Ohio. Lorain is about 30 minutes west of Cleveland right on Lake Erie. I am playing for the Northcoast Knights in the Prospect League. We are a first year team so we don't draw very many fans. I would say we average about 30 a game, but when we are on the road we get a lot more. When we played in Hannibal, Missouri (home of Mark Twain) I got to pitch in front of about 2,500 people and thought that was pretty cool. The team is doing pretty good; we are currently in second place only a half game back at the all-star break. Our team consists of players from all over like: USC, UC Riverside, Long Beach State, Tulane, Boston College, Coastal Carolina, Washington State, and others. So we have a lot of good talent and we are finally putting it together as a team. We started out kind of slow but now we are right in the mix of things. We have had some problems chemistry wise because of players leaving but I think our team should be set now. The top two teams from the east division and the top two from the west division make the playoffs and I think we have a good chance of winning the league.
For me it has been really good baseball wise. I am in the starting rotation and have been pitching pretty well. I currently lead our division in ERA and just got back from pitching in the all-star game, which was pretty fun. The all-star game was played in Springfield Illinois, home of Abraham Lincoln. It was a nice experience and I had a good time.
The first day I got here my host family took me to an Indians game and they were playing the Yankees. My host family is huge Yankees fans so I was told to root for them. I also got to go to a pretty cool amusement park called Cedar Point, there are some big roller coasters and it was a lot of fun. I think the best place to visit in Ohio is Put-In Bay. It's an island in Lake Erie and it is more of a vacation place. I went with my family and really enjoyed it.
I live with the Melendez family in Amherst Ohio, which is about ten minutes from the field. I live with one of the guys on the team's family, which is nice cause there is someone my age I live with and he shows me around. My experience in Ohio has been good so far and I hope everything continues to go as is. We have a good chance of winning the league and if we keep playing well we should win it. Our owner said we get championship rings if we win the league so I hope to be bringing one home.
