Today marks the halfway point of our trip in terms of days—we left Philadelphia on April 3rd, and will eventually return on September 9th. We’ve seen a lot of baseball and raised a lot of money, but we are ready to crank it up a notch and power through the last 99 games. Tonight was the home opener for the Idaho Falls Chukars, who just recently redesigned their ballpark in the offseason. Melaleuca Field was originally built in 1940 and has gone through a few renovations, but this year the team tore down the entire structure only leaving the field. They rebuilt a whole new structure, complete with luxury suites and brand new seating. From what I was told by local fans, the new ballpark is a huge upgrade. The pre-game ceremony included Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, making his rounds on the campaign trail for 2008.

The fans were super pumped for the new ballpark, as you can see in the picture above. Huge lines formed an hour before the gates even opened. The Chukars were taking Orem Owlz (who we just saw two days prior) and came out victorious 4-1 for a great opening night win. It was good to see Zach and Jason from the Owlz making the trip up from Orem to support their team. They were probably the only people in the packed stands cheering for Orem. Speaking of the crowd, everyone was in good spirits which helped us raise our 2nd highest total yet (right behind Fresno)! Thanks to Andrew for helping us out on such a crazy night.