8/15/14, 8 am - Not much was going on this morning except for the 15 minute math drill and re-packing of the suitcases.  At this point of the journey, the two rollerboards are now spilt 50/50; one contains clean clothes and the other, not-so-clean.

Time to drive from ABQ to ELP.  GPS says the drive is 364 miles and 4.5 hours.  If highway conditions are anything like yesterday’s trip from OKC, then we should beat the estimate.  Our drive along the southern 30% of I-25, which dissolves into I-10 outside of Las Cruces, was an excellent non-stop adventure.  Traffic was very light and the generous western-state speed limit helped us reach our hotel before 5pm.  Along the way, we enjoyed sweeping vistas of huge valleys and distant mountain ranges punctuated with massive summertime cumulonimbus cloud formations.  Out west, everything is big.

This time around, we are breaking our 6 year streak of Marriott-only, to stay at a Hilton Doubletree.  The choice is a matter of practical convenience. 

The El Paso Doubletree is across the street from the ballpark, and it’s safe to say there is not a Marriott within miles.  Our room is on the 11th floor overlooking the field, and the location our seats near home plate.  We passed through the gates around 6:15 and took our usual stroll around the concourse to see the park’s features. 

Southwest University Park is still in its inaugural season, having opened last April. 

While Nashville was old, and tired, and ready for the wrecking ball, the field in El Paso is like a shiny new penny.  The park is a gem and excellent in every regard, and comfortably holds a sellout crowd of 8,000+. 

Before the game, Charlie camped out beside the Chihuahua’s dugout entrance and managed to get 17 autographs of players and coaches, including the great ex-Cubs catcher, now El Paso Hitting Coach, Jody Davis.

The crowd was loud and rowdy, typical for a Friday night; The Nashville Sounds pitcher took a lot of time between pitches, and it seemed like the catcher visited the mound about a hundred times, so the fans impatiently booed at every delay.  The Chihuahuas were trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the 7th inning, when they erupted with 7 runs of offense.  By the top of the 9th, the Chihuahuas closer sealed the deal, and the home team won, bringing our BBT 2014 record back to .500.

In Albuquerque, the season ticket holder who introduced the boys to Franklin Stubbs, also mentioned that teams will frequently give away broken bats after the game is over.  Charlie zeroed in on this advice and planned his strategy the entire game.  At the ninth inning, he moved over to the section above the dugout and was set to strike at the last out.  Sure enough, he was in the right place at the right time and scored a broken bat from the 2nd Baseman, Taylor Lindsay.  Needless to say, Charlie was pretty excited to score such a significant souvenir.

After the game we walked back to the hotel for a quick game recap and then a good night’s sleep.