Our third straight day of doubleheader baseball, and of course there was no better way to do it by attending one of our last education days. It feels as if each Education Day is busier and packed with more kids than the previous one, and I really think this was the most kids we’ve seen in one place on this trip. The good news is that we were able to give away a lot of mini bats and sell a bunch of raffle tickets for 25 cents (special kids price), and managed to come out of the stadium unscathed and with some funds raised. Thanks to Bryan for helping us out!

The Stars play their games at Joe W. Davis stadium, also known as “The Joe”—yet another stadium that has named itself after a first name. The Huntsville Stars are the longest running and most successful sports franchise in the Tennessee Valley. One hundred and thirty nine former Stars have gone on to play in the Major Leagues in the team’s short history (via Wikipedia).

Later that night we went back to Tennessee to see the Chattanooga Lookouts—our 50th game on the trip! The Lookouts stadium is located on top of a hill. You have to park at the bottom of the hill and then take the stairs or an escalator to the top of the hill in order to enter the ballpark. Once you get inside the ballpark, you will be inundated with the sound of a woman selling programs. She has quite a catchy slogan she repeats over and over for a good hour or so. Tonight she had some extra help, as you can see in the video below.

Catchy, right? And yes, I did buy a program for 25 cents. Tonight when we walked through the stands I had an opportunity to catch my first legit foul ball since this trip started. Chris and I were standing behind home plate when a foul ball was hit in our direction—it bounced off a chair straight up in the air, and then two guys with butterfingers tried to grab it (think Chris trying to catch my first pitch) and then it bounced right into my hands. (I ended up giving it away to a kid who was in search of her first foul ball.) By the time we made it through the stadium, we had finished with our 2nd highest night of fundraising to date. Special thanks to Pete for getting us set up and taken care of during the game!