Published April 2, 2026
There I was, sitting in the press box at Stetson University’s baseball stadium, left alone to write a postgame story in the Eastern time zone for a Central time zone deadline. It was 6 p.m. there in DeLand, Florida, meaning it was only 5 in Baton Rouge, where the paper I worked for is located.
At 6:01 p.m., I paused my writing to look up, relax my neck and shoulders and see some more Saturday evening sunlight on that gorgeous Feb. 17, 2007. And then it happened.
NASA launched a rocket carrying five THEMIS satellites from Cape Canaveral, Florida, into orbit around the Earth. I had a perfect view, as if someone had planned it for me.
The purpose of the mission was to study Earth’s most colorful auroras. You can learn more about THEMIS online, including from NASA. There’s an Artemis connection.
I’ve told a lot of stories about that trip to Florida, but I don’t think I told many people about the launch. The next day, I mentioned it to Stetson baseball coach Pete Dunn, who told me fun stories about watching launches with friends from boats and old bridges in the area.
Melching Field at Conrad Park has had some upgrades since 2007. If you drew a line from the press box to the drone that took the 2023 photo above this post and extended it another 60 miles or so to the southeast, you’d be drawing the sightline I had as the launch gained altitude. I couldn’t hear it, but when I looked up, there it was, rising from far beyond right-center field.
I couldn’t have drawn it up any better. And for being that far away, it seemed much closer.
But passengers on a commercial flight yesterday have me beat, I think. They were flying overhead when Artemis II launched below them, and they got a cool view. This BBC journalist on the ground in Florida clearly had a blast watching the blastoff.
(If you can’t stand to see or hear the U.S. president, make sure you’re on top of autoplay for those videos.)
I’m telling you, with Stetson diamond sports, you might get a launch.
Some notes for you seamheads
The rest of this is for baseball fans. My website has attracted a few over the years. But all are invited to read.
The baseball itself in 2007 was loaded with stories. Corey Kluber, a Stetson junior that year, went on to become a dominant pitcher in Major League Baseball.
Against LSU in the Friday game, Kluber pitched 6 2/3 innings, striking out nine batters while scattering three hits. He allowed LSU’s only earned run in Stetson’s 8-1 victory.
Future major leaguer Charlie Furbush was the LSU starting pitcher in that game, and he took the loss. Furbush has been part of the broadcast team of the Seattle Mariners, for whom he pitched from 2011-15, and does radio analysis of the team in Seattle.
The next day, the afternoon of the launch, LSU lost 14-1 to the Hatters (isn’t that just the right nickname?). Stetson roughed up LSU starting pitcher Louis Coleman, a future member of the Kansas City Royals. Braedyn Pruitt (Yankees) and Brian Pruitt (Nationals) both went 2-for-4 and combined to drive in four runs and score two.
Other future MLB draft picks from Stetson who had great games that day were Shane Jordan (Giants), who was 4-for-5 and accounted for five runs, and Justin Bass (Marlins), who was 2-for-3 and scored two runs.
LSU won the Sunday game 8-4, with future major-leaguer Jared Mitchell one of three Tigers to go 3-for-5. LSU had 13 hits, totaling 12 off future MLB draft picks Chris Ingoglia (Marlins), Nick Pugliese (Angels) and Robby Donovan (Astros).
Other names you may know from scouring past draft lists played in the series. The three games drew a total attendance of 7,504, a respectable chunk of the school-record 61,798 that went to Stetson’s 42 home games in 2007.
And what’s this?
Jacob deGrom was a Stetson freshman in 2008, when the teams met again in Baton Rouge. You may know him better as a pitcher, but he was an infielder at the time.
His prime appears to be over, but he’s still pitching.
DeGrom (Mets), Casey Frawley (Cleveland), Jeremy Cruz (Angels), Pugliese, Donovan, Bass and Brian Pruitt again played against LSU in that 2008 series. The homestanding Tigers won two of three games against Stetson, went on to have a 23-game winning streak and played in the College World Series later that year.
Mitchell played for LSU in that 2008 series against Stetson, but the Tigers’ biggest name from that weekend went on to accomplish a rare feat in the major leagues. DJ LeMahieu won batting titles in the American (Yankees) and National (Rockies) leagues. No other player in the modern era has done that.
The core of that 2008 LSU team helped lead the Tigers to the 2009 national championship.
That’s it. Maybe I can sleep now.
Sending love. Protect your peace.
Aerial photo by TW Farlow Media via Shutterstock.
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