Jayhawks land in the Dominican Republic
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11/23 – Arrive in DR
11/24 – vs. San Francisco
11/24 – vs. MLB All-Stars
11/24 – Community Service
11/25 – vs. Philadelphia
11/25 – vs. Kansas City
11/25 – Community Service
11/26 – vs. Kansas City
11/27 – Return to Kansas
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11/22 – Headin’ Down
11/23 – Arrival
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11/23 – Arrival
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BOCA CHICA, Dominican Republic – After a 3 a.m. (CT) departure from Hoglund Ballpark and 11 hours of traveling, the Kansas baseball team arrived at the Be Live Hamaca Resort in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic, Wednesday evening with sights set on a productive trip.
The Jayhawks departed the McCarthy Family Clubhouse at 3 a.m. (CT) and arrived at Kansas City International Airport at 4:07 a.m., with plenty of time to spare to catch their flight to Atlanta at 5:55 a.m. A quick two-hour ride into the Eastern Time zone and KU had just 45 minutes to catch its connecting flight at 10 a.m. (ET).
Three and a half hours later, Kansas found itself in yet another time zone, landing at Santo Domingo Airport at 2:30 p.m. local time. Unlike the trip four years ago, the Jayhawks were greeted with unfriendly skies filled with dark clouds and rain, washing out Wednesday’s scheduled team workout at the Royals Complex in Guerra, Dominican Republic.
“It was really neat,” sophomore infielder Rudy Karre said of his first trip outside the United States. “You are flying over the ocean the entire time and then when you go to land, it looks like you are going to land in water, but then you touch down in a different country.”
With the practice rained out, the squad filed quickly through customs and headed straight to the resort for some rest and relaxation before a packed Thursday of baseball and giving back. The team will split into two squads Nov. 24 to take on the Major League Baseball (MLB) Dominican Republic affiliate team of the San Francisco Giants and select All-Stars.
“We have a new group of guys this year – probably more new guys than returners,” Karre said. “Over the past two months, we have really gotten a lot closer as a team. Coming here to the Dominican Republic is a good opportunity for us to play against someone different than ourselves and bond even closer.”
Game times for both those contests will begin at 10:30 a.m. local time (8:30 a.m. CT). Following the games, the Jayhawks will travel to Escuela Marta Rosa Castillo School in Boca Chica to interact with area youth and hand out care packages filled with KU baseball gear.
Fans can follow along with daily updates on KUAthletics.com, or by following the “Baseball Tours the Dominican Republic” blog.
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