Day 6

Last game, right?

That's right. I'm driving to Harrisburg today.

Erie and Harrisburg are in the same state. That can't be too far.

Oh, bolded and underlined type, you're so naïve.

This was my longest day of driving so far. You see, Erie is in the far northwest corner of Pennsylvania. Harrisburg is in the south-central part of the state. There isn't really a direct way of getting there, so you have to take a bunch of small state highways... how about I just show you?

I left Erie at 9:30 and got to Harrisburg at 4:00. Of course, I didn't drive straight for six-and-a-half hours. I made a few stops and took one small detour.

I didn't do much at Penn State (other than eat tacos), but when you're going to drive near the second-largest stadium in the Western Hemisphere, you might as well stop to take a picture.

While it was a long drive, the Pennsylvania countryside is gorgeous. I drove all through mountains and large green fields, with the occasional little town thrown in. I didn't take any pictures because I was driving (and that's dangerous!) so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Wow, Will, you've spent a lot of time in the car over the past several days. I'd like to get to know more about you. How have you kept yourself entertained?

Thank you, I appreciate that.

You're welcome.

I've mostly listened to podcasts. So far, I've listened to:

• No Such Thing as a Fish - I've listened to this one every week for seven or so years now and there's never been a bad episode. It's always funny, interesting, and a delightful way to spend an hour.

• Until Saturday - This is the Athletic's new college football podcast. Honestly, it's not good, but my sports podcasts keep ending, so this has to do for now.

• S-Town - After years of meaning to, I finally listened. It's really good. I think it's a great Southern story that hooks you for its nearly seven-hour runtime. I haven't found anything else like it.

• This American Life: The classic. I don't listen as much as I used to, but it's consistently stellar storytelling. I listened to the episode "The Call," which was one of the best new This American Life episodes I've listened to in a while.

• The Constant: A frustratingly inconsistent podcast (it can be very boring) but I learned a lot about lighthouses and rogue waves in "The One From Nowhere."

• Welcome to Nightvale - People have been telling me to listen to this podcast for years and I finally had time. It has all the elements of something I'd like, but it just didn't click for me.

• Lore - Evan told me about this one; I liked it a lot. It can be a little spooky, so it's a good thing it wasn't nighttime when I went through those Pennsylvania mountains.

There's also been some music. Before leaving, I tried to come up with my five desert island discs and downloaded them to my phone. I picked (in chronological order):

• Revolver by the Beatles

• Aereo-Plain by John Hartford

• A Night at the Opera by Queen

• The Midnight Organ Fight by Frightened Rabbit and

• Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett.

I also listened to a couple of playlists that Evan sent me, which greatly helped with today's drive in particular.

After said drive, I went straight to my hotel, laid down for an hour or so, and then went to the ballgame.

Who are the Harrisburg Senators?

The Harrisburg Senators are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. Founded in 1987, the team has always been in Harrisburg and always been the Senators. They've been part of the Nationals organization since 1991, which means they used to be a farm team for the Montreal Expos.

Why are the called the Senators? As the state capital, the Pennsylvania legislature meets in Harrisburg and they get a baseball team named for them. Since they are part of the Washington Nationals organization and the old Washington baseball club was called the Senators, I thought that might have something to do with it. But it doesn't.

Who are they playing? The Bowie Baysox, the first team I saw. Real full-circle moment or whatever.

Is the stadium nice? As far as I know, FNB Field is wholly unique. It is located on a small island in the middle of the Susquehanna River. You can see an aerial photo below.

I think this is so cool. There are a few other things on the island, but the baseball field is the main thing. And I think this is a great stadium; particularly, it's almost as old as Richmond's Diamond and feels so much newer (it did have an extensive renovation in 2008).

However, this is going to sound antithetical to what I said about Erie's stadium, but this one feels a little too big. Here's what I mean -- unless you sit in left field (which you can do), it takes several minutes to get to your seat no matter where you are. I sat in center field (to shake it up a bit [also, it was cheapest]) and I missed an entire half-inning because the nearest water fountain was halfway across the field and it somehow required a hike to get there. I think this is because it's on an island in the middle of the Susquehanna River and it has to be set up awkwardly, but this is quite a bit different from the rest of the stadiums I've been to. Still a really nice stadium.

What do they have to eat there? Folks, I believe we finally have a winner. Below is FNB Field's meatball sub.

It's hard to mess up a meatball sub, and Harrisburg certainly didn't. The first thing you'll probably notice is the MASSIVE size of the meatballs. I had to cut them with a fork and eat half of each meatball before I could even close the sandwich. In addition to the meatballs, there's pepperoni and cheese underneath. This must be about 20,000 calories but it was tasty and I regret nothing.

Miscellaneous Notes

• Once again, my hotel was close enough to walk to the stadium. There is a pedestrian bridge that crosses the river- WAAAAAAHHH

Sorry, I almost stepped on this groundhog. There are groundhogs all over the place near the river. Anyway, there's a pedestrian bridge that crosses the river, so it's really easy to get to the island. I walked in the correct direction the entire time, which qualifies me as an expert navigator.

• Before the game, two little girls sang the national anthem. This was the worst singing I have ever heard. I'm not kidding, it was unimaginably bad. I don't know who they were, but they were both singing a different wrong note every time. But they're little kids, so no one can say anything. And I have to pretend like it's not the worst singing I have ever heard. They seemed like they had a blast doing it, so that's probably worth it.

• I think this is the first game where it's actually been sunny at first pitch. I haven't brought this up much since the Richmond game, but I picked a terrible week to see multiple baseball games. It's rained nearly every day and there were multiple games that I feared would be canceled. But today, there isn't a cloud in the sky.

• It's a really good crowd for a Thursday. The outfield seats where I am are nearly full, and that's the case in several sections around the stadium. Not only that -- it's an engaged crowd, which you don't always get.

Game Notes

Bowie: 35-30, 3rd in ELSW (4 GB)

Harrisburg: 26-39, 6th in ELSW (13 GB)

The Baysox are basically eliminated from postseason contention, but they officially will be with a loss today.

BOW starting pitcher: Connor Gillespie HBG starting pitcher: Michael Cuevas

Top 1st: I saw Connor Gillespie pitch in the first Baysox game I went to. Today was not his day. After walking the first two batters, James Wood took Gillespie's pitch to the outfield with an RBI single. It's now 1-0 Harrisburg with two men on base. There are no outs.

Top 1st: The very next pitch -- a three-run homerun belted by Brady House. It's 4-0 Senators, and there are still no outs. No one else scores and Gillespie makes it through the inning, but it isn't looking good for the Baysox.

Top 4th: Bowie's Dylan Beavers hits an RBI single to right field. In a reverse from the first inning. It's 1-0, Bowie has two men on base, and there are no outs.

Top 4th: Wouldn't you know it -- the next batter, Max Wagner, blasts a triple to centerfield. After looking hopeless, the Baysox are back in it, down just 4-3. And we're not done; John Rhodes hits a single that brings Wagner in to score, and we are all tied.

Bot 5th: Senator James Wood hits a two-run double to leftfield, giving Harrisburg the lead, 6-4. He'll later score himself because of an error on a double play attempt. 7-4 Senators.

Bot 6th: James Wood is having himself a day. With a man on base, Woods hits a deep double to centerfield. However, Bowie's Donta' Williams makes an excellent throw and throws Dylan Crews out at home plate. It's still 7-4.

Top 7th: The Baysox have some life again when Samuel Besallo hits a ground ball RBI that brings Gilbert Lara in to score, which cuts it to 7-5, Harrisburg.

Bot 7th: But Harrisburg's Trey Lipscomb has a sacrifice fly to bring Brady House home. We're back to a 3-run lead, 8-5.

Top 9th: It's Bowie's last chance but they can't do anything with it. They go 1-2-3 and the Senators win, 8-5.

Win: Michael Cuevas

Loss: Trey McGough

Player of the Game: James Wood - 3-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R

The walk back was fine. No beheaded sheep this time.

Click HERE for Day 7, in which Will mostly just wraps things up.