Luther athletics photo

DYERSVILLE, Iowa  – It's a special place, Dyersville, Iowa. It's a place where the wind doesn't blow as cold, once you've been there. You feel for it, feel it in your bones and your heart. It's a place where baseball reigns supreme in every season, even when every TV is seemingly tuned to the NFL and college football. 

And, for the first time Friday night, college baseball reigned supreme at the Field of Dreams. Where Joe Jackson returned to the game of baseball, Ghavin James (Crystal Lake, Ill. / Crystal Lake South) blasted a home run deep into the right field corn. Where Archie "Moonlight" Graham looked to relive his glory days, Nolan Klocke (Hayfield, Minn. / Hayfield) tallied three strikeouts in an inning. And where John Kinsella emerged from the corn, so too did the Luther College baseball team, as the Norse faced Briar Cliff University in the first ever collegiate baseball game played on the Field of Dreams Movie Site Field. And while the result may not have been a victory in the win-loss column, it was a win in life, to bring sons and fathers, families and fans together to experience one night of history in Dyersville, Iowa. 

THEY BUILT IT, WE GAME

According to contracts, the game itself was 18 months in the making, though in reality, it was probably more like 33 years. After Field of Dreams was released in 1989, the movie field became an immediate destination for teams and baseball fans alike and eventually opened its doors to little league tournaments and youth games. In 2021, the complex hosted its first Major League Baseball game on a field not far from the heralded corn field and iconic farmhouse. Eighteen months ago, though, Briar Cliff and Luther secured a contract to be the first college teams to play on the movie site field, and after 18 months of planning and organizing by both institutions' administrators, coaches and athletic staffs, the Chargers and Norse walked through the corn and played some baseball, giving attendees a night to remember. 

Briar Cliff opened the scoring, as the Chargers took a 3-0 lead in the first and extended it to 4-0 in the second in a game that wasn't so much about the score at the end of all things. However, Luther showed plenty of fight in the top of the third, as James blasted a solo home run deep to the right field corn, cutting the Briar Cliff lead to 4-1. While it was the only run the Norse would score, there were plenty of scrapbook moments in the nine inning game. Gavin Scurr (San Diego, Calif. / University City) and Barrett Lindmark (Bettendorf, Iowa / Pleasant Valley) tallied hits for Luther, while Cullen Stamp (Plymouth, Minn. / Wayzata) counted as the first collegiate aged base runner at the Field of Dreams Movie Site Field thanks to his leadoff walk in the top of the first inning. Joshua Matanich (Lake City, Minn. / Lincoln) became the second, as he closed the night with two walks in two plate appearances, while Klocke pitched a scoreless frame in the bottom of the eighth, tallying three strikeouts and a walk in his flawless inning on the mound. 

In the end, the Chargers won the historic game 15-1, with James' home run counting as the lone run for the Norse. The final score, though, was simply a formality because maybe the best site of all was seeing families greet their sons for a game of catch when all was said and done.