She had never been to a professional baseball game, but that all changed for Manuela Carbajo Ré (Necochea, Argentina) on Sunday when she not only attended the Gwinnett Stripers home contest against the Durham Bulls, but threw out the first pitch.
“It was pretty awesome. I learned a little bit more about baseball,” said Carbajo Ré. “I liked being in the game, I met some people there seated behind us. Baseball is fun, but I think it is even more fun to play. I was watching it and I was like, ‘I want to be trying it.’”
In order to practice for the opportunity, Carbajo Ré received some assistance from a friend in Orlando. They tossed a food item from the kitchen (perhaps a lemon), before upgrading to a tennis ball.
She also had some help from University of Georgia (UGA) women’s golf head coach, Josh Brewer.
“I was a little bit nervous before (the first pitch),” Carbajo Ré said. “But, I practiced two weeks ago with one of my friends. He told me I was pretty good. Then I threw one ball a day before the game with my Coach (Brewer) from Georgia because I told him I was coming here. He said, ‘Let’s practice, let’s see what you have!’ It was with a golf ball.”
Any way you look at it, Carbajo Ré was ready come Sunday afternoon. From the practice, to her knowledge of the venue.
“I’m super excited that I got to be at the stadium again because I went there with Georgia when I was doing my Master’s degree,” said Carbajo Ré, who visited the friendly confines last year with her UGA postgraduate program.
Although she is in her second year on the Epson Tour, it is the first year for Carbajo Ré without having to worry about academics. She received a Bachelor’s in Mass Media from UGA in 2016, closely followed by a Master’s in Sports Management late last year.
Even with one less item on her plate, she is still finding activities—outside of golf—to fill the void left from her years of research and schooling.
“I’m just so used to studying or doing something else beside golf,” Carbajo Ré said. “It’s not free time, I have a lot of time to work on my game. I’m also reading a couple books.”
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