Eagle Baseball is closing the Fall 2017 semester with a special trip five day trip to the Dominican Republic. Redshirt sophomore catcher Matt Anderson will share his experiences on the trip in this special journal on GSEagles.com.

-- Saturday, November 18 --

Getting up at 3 A.M. to be in Atlanta by 7:15 wasn't easy for any of us. Luckily, a nice bus ride to the airport gave us the opportunity to nap. Our flight for the Dominican departed at 9:45 A.M., and we landed around 2:30 P.M. I could tell some of the guys were nervous because we didn't know what to expect, but we were excited to be on this trip together.

When we landed, we were met by our guides and found the bus that we would be taking from place to place during the trip. It was comical getting on the bus because our bus driver had Hispanic music blaring as we all loaded! It was something that we didn't expect at all, but it set the tone for the day.

While we rode to the field for our practice, I could only notice how different everything was culturally. What I mean by this is the many buildings that are right on top of one another, the multitudes of people roaming the streets, and the free-range chickens everywhere. Definitely a culture shock for many of us.

As we arrived at the field we were met by some of the players who are currently training at the Texas Rangers academy here in Boca Chica. You could feel the energy that this place had right when you stepped off the bus. These guys eat, sleep and breathe baseball. I say this because while they train here, they stay in dorms right at the fields which is something that really isn't heard of back at home.

Once practice was over we headed to the hotel where we were fed dinner and had the rest of the night to relax. We can't wait to see what this week has in store for us. We play our first game on Sunday against the Dominican Army National Team, the first of many opportunities for new experiences.

--

Georgia Southern Athletics provides current information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, which is fully responsive across all mobile devices. Information on Eagle athletics can also be found through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics and Instagram.com/GSAthletics. To purchase tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, visit GSEagles.com/tickets.
 
In order to expedite entry and provide a safe environment for all patrons and participants, Georgia Southern Athletics has implemented a Clear Bag Policy for all ticketed sporting events, effective Aug. 1, 2017. Fans can find the complete policy as well as an FAQ section at GSEagles.com/ClearBag.