Tagged: Louisville Slugger Field
Brian learns from Bats
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: Last weekend the Bats hosted a youth camp sponsored by the local Chevy dealerships. Members of the Division III Spalding University baseball team were also on hand to help teach the kids. After warm-ups, Brian’s group went to play a game of wiffle ball with some Golden Eagles to start things off.
After the wiffle ball game, his next station was in the outfield catching fly balls. The players were hitting the baseballs much higher than the kids were used to seeing, but most did a good job of catching them, anyway.
After working on the pop-fly’s, the groups worked on fielding the ball off of the wall. This is something the kids haven’t dealt with much at their age. They had some good drills, and made a game of it. After that, their next station was catching. One of the Bats coaches was running this one, and you could tell he was an old-school baseball guy. He didn’t put up with much from any of the kids (and Brian did have a few smart-asses in his group), and expected them to hustle and work hard. Nothing wrong with that. I didn’t get any good pics of the last two stations, so we’ll move onto base-running. The boys worked on running through the base, and making that hard turn toward second.
I wasn’t able to follow him down to the indoor batting cages, but he said he hit the ball pretty well. No surprise, as that’s probably the strongest aspect of his game. I did snap a shot of him in the dugout, though!
Then it was time to gather at the short-stop position for some ground balls. Brian has gotten a lot better at fielding over the last couple of seasons. I was having fun just seeing him out there on the field. They had a little problem with some bullying in their group, but the Bats official put a stop to that asap. Sometimes you get some kids from the same team in these groups, and think they can push kids around and run the show.
The last station was pitching. Brian will be entering the kid-pitch division for the first time this fall, so this was good instruction he was getting. He needs some help with his throwing mechanics, any, so this station was good for him.
Brian getting some pitching instruction
In all, this was a fun experience for him. They move the kids around pretty quick, but I’m hoping he picked up a thing or two to get ready for fall ball.
Brian with members of the Louisville Bats
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
Pork Roast
Louisville Bats vs. Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (International League)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: Bri and I back at Slugger Field, but this time for more Bats baseball. This game they were hosting the Iron Pigs, which Brian thought was hilarious, and kept making jokes about all night. Yep, that’s my guy…
Nachos and cheese for that cheesy grin!
It was another beautiful night, as Robert Stephenson took the mound for the Bats. He threw a perfect four innings, giving up no hits or runs. The Louisville offense came alive in the fifth inning, however, starting out with a Brandon Dixon solo home run. Hernan Iribarren would later smack a two-run single, extending his team’s lead to 3-0.
Brian and I needed a little snack during the game, again, and this time went with some Kizito cookies. The cookie lady walks around the ballpark with a basket of cookies on her head, and it’s hard to say no! The cookies are really good and priced right, also, which helps to feed hungry kids.
Nothing beats a Kizito chocolate chip cookie
Brian also got a foul ball, and we picked one up in the gift shop with the retro logo on it. It gave us something to throw around at the game, anyway:
The wheels fell of a bit for the Bats in the eight inning, though, as the Iron Pigs tapped relief pitcher Kyle McMyne for four runs on four hits to take the lead. Louisville tied the game at the bottom of the inning, after Phillip Ervin’s base hit that scored Stuart Turner. With the game tied 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth, Sebastian Elizade hit an infield single to bring home Zach Vincej for the walk-off win! FINAL: Bats 5, Iron Pigs 4.
Another fun game with Bri. We had another busy week in baseball, and another Bats game the next weekend, so stay tuned. I’ll leave off with a pic of Bri and Buddy Bat:
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
2017 ACC Championship
North Carolina TarHeels vs. Florida State Seminoles (NCAA)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: Well, here we go with the title game (and only two weeks behind…). It was a beautiful day in the ‘Ville, as Trevor and I settled into our seats for the impending action.
The game started out well for North Carolina, despite playing ball just twelve hours earlier. They plated three runs in the second inning, first on a solo shot from Tyler Lynn. Michael Busch hit an RBI double to put the Heels up 2-0. Then two errors by the un-named Seminole first baseman allowed Busch to score to put his team up 3-0. Unfortunately for the Heels, that’s all the scoring they would get. In my opinion, the turning point of the game came in the fourth innings when North Carolina had the bases loaded with no outs on a pair of walks and hit batter. The next three TarHeels struck out, leaving the pond full of ducks, and NC fans bewildered.
On the mound for NC, Josh Hiatt took the loss, giving up six runs on six hits, two of those being home runs. The Seminoles pretty much put the game away in the eight inning, scoring five runs. The un-named first-baseman made up for his error with two home runs in the game. An un-named pitcher for Florida State picked up the win, despite only working 1.1 innings and striking out one. The worn out TarHeels just couldn’t compete late in the game with the more rested Seminoles. FINAL: TarHeels 3, Seminoles 7.
Also, as the game was a day before Memorial Day, this was a good time to thank and pray for all those who made the ultimate sacrifice for this great country, so my son and I can enjoy a ballgame together. At Louisville Slugger Field, there is a seat in the outfield reserved just for them. Trevor put his American flag in the cup holder of the seat, and when we came back around, there were many more there!
This seat is reserved for our MIA and POW heroes!
Ok, maybe I was a little hard on Florida State through out this tournament. My original plan was to take some good photos and maybe even a video of the celebration and trophy presentation after the game, no matter which team won. And maybe it was a little rash of me to just head for the gate at that final out. So here’s a video I found on YouTube courtesy of ACC Digital Network for you to enjoy. It pains me to say this, but, congratulations Florida State…
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
Video courtesy of ACC Digital Network
2017 ACC Semi-final Game 2
North Carolina TarHeels vs. Miami Hurricanes (NCAA)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: I’m not going to lie. We never saw one inning of this game. Not one pitch, not one at-bat…nothing. For some reason the ACC decided to keep postponing the game, even though the weather was fine at the time. The photo above is the TarHeels just hanging out, waiting to play ball. However that wouldn’t happen for a couple of more hours. Yes, there was a chance of rain, and yes, it did end up raining, but not until after the postponed start. The ACC could have given the go-ahead, and when it DID rain, at least the teams would have gotten a large chunk of the game in. Also, as we did, a large chunk of the paid attendance wouldn’t have been cheated out of a game, either, as fans headed for the gates when the announcement came that the game wouldn’t start for awhile, yet. FINAL: TarHeels 12, Hurricanes 4.
The Hurricanes heading for the batting cages
I’m not going to lie. I really would have liked to have seen this game, but since it didn’t get over until almost midnight, that would have made for a very long and strenuous day, especially with my dad and Brian at the ballpark impatiently waiting for baseball that we paid for. At least Brian got to meet some of the North Carolina players, but we didn’t have a chance to catch up with any Hurricanes.
Brian with a pair of TarHeels
Before the announcement of the delay, we took the time to check out the ACC Fan Fest in the West Wing of Slugger Field. I really wish the ACC would have shown that this is an important event, and maybe had some more things going on, and maybe some of the school mascots on hand instead of just cardboard cutouts of them. Brian at least got to see the ACC Championship trophy, too.
Brian with the ACC Baseball Championship trophy
We spent most of the time at the Louisville Slugger display, where Brian was able to hold some bats of Major Leaguers, including Louisville’s own Adam Duvall. Again, we were all very disappointed that we weren’t able to see any of this game, but just couldn’t stay there and wait around any longer. I honestly wasn’t that impressed with the way the ACC handled this tournament as a whole, from the pool play down to it’s weather delays. But, then again, having NC play until midnight and have to be ready to play the next day at noon, gave a HUGE advantage to the waiting Seminoles… Hhhhmm….
Brian swinging some pro lumber from Louisville Slugger
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
2017 ACC Tournament Game 11
Louisville Cardinals vs. Florida State Seminoles (NCAA)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: I didn’t like this game. Not at all. In some way of dark magic, Florida State’s season came alive the weekend before when they rode into town and spanked the Cardinals two games in a row on their home field. One would think that this game would be different, that Louisville would be pumped up and out for revenge. Unfortunately for the packed house clothed in red and white here in the stands at Slugger field, the opposite happened. The Cards seemed to play some uninspired baseball, en route to eliminating themselves from the tournament.
From here forward, I’ve decided not to mention any Seminole player by named during the re-caps. Sorry, it’s nothing personal. Well, yeah, actually I guess it is… Kade McClure was on the mound for the Cards, and he gave up two runs in the first inning. He only lasted 3.24 innings, giving up four runs on six hits. Adam Wolf and Lincoln Henzman each gave up a run, also. The Cards had little offense, but Brendan McKay did go 2/4 with a home run. FINAL: Cardinals 2, Seminoles 6.
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
Bats double-header Game 2
Louisville Bats vs. Columbus Clippers (International League)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: Brian and I settled in for the second game, and were pleased with this one, also, as we were looking for another Bats victory. To start the game off right, though, we had to get ourselves some ballpark treats. Brian went with some Flavor Ice and I settled for some simple ice cream in a helmet.
Pitching for the Bats in game two was lefty Ismael Guillon. He pitched three and two thirds of an inning, giving up four hits and one run, but never allowing a base on balls. Louisville did most of their damage in the fourth inning. Beau Amaral hit a bases loaded triple, scoring Sebastian Elizalde, Brandon Dixon, and Rob Brantley. The Bats lead 4-1 after the fourth and hung on for the victory. Final(7): Bats 4, Clippers 3.
We can’t forget that the Zooperstars were still on hand to put on a show. We were able to see Peyton Manatee, Nomar GarciaParrott, and Whale Gretzky. Harry Canary sang ‘Take Me Out To The Ballgame’ during the seventh inning stretch, but I wasn’t able to snap a photo of that.
And we ended the day right by hanging out with Buddy Bat! More posts to come in the next couple of weeks.
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
Bats double-header Game 1
Louisville Bats vs. Columbus Clippers (International League)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: Well, we finally made it back to Slugger Field for some Bats baseball. Usually with us the rain is a pain, but last weekend it actually helped, as Saturday nights game was rained out, so we were able to enjoy a double-header on Sunday. The first game moved by quickly, but we enjoyed it and cheered on our team.
As is with most minor league double-headers, they are a seven inning games, and this one was a pitchers duel. For the Bats, starter Jackson Stephens pitched all seven innings for a complete game shut out. He gave up seven hits, but gave up no walks in his outing. And while we were watching all of the non-offense, Brian was enjoying his free kids meal of a hot dog, nachos, and root beer.
The Zooperstars were also on hand to entertain us. We saw CentiPete Rose, Tommy LaSwordfish, and Tim TeBull during this game.
We finally saw some excitement in the final inning. The Bats had back-to-back singles from Sebastian Elizalde and Tony Renda to open the inning. Then Brandon Dixon came to the plate and hit a walk-off single for a 1-0 Louisville victory! Final (7): Bats 1, Clippers 0.
Between games Brian and I went out to the West Wing to get out of the sun for a while. As Sunday is Kids Club day, they had plenty of activities for them. Brian was lucky enough to interact with some of our veterans, and made a poppy flower that will go on a Memorial Day parade float honoring our fallen heroes!
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
One Year Down
Louisville Cardinals vs. Northern Kentucky Norse (NCAA)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: The 26th marked our one year anniversary of living down here in Kentucky, so we decided to celebrate with a baseball game featuring two Kentucky teams. The Cards were hosting the Northern Kentucky Norse at Louisville Slugger Field (where the Bats play) for a special game. This was our first chance to check out NKU, also. I was fortunate enough to get these tickets for free, after buying tickets for the ACC Baseball championship here next month. Free tickets are the best kind, and Trevor and I had great seats to watch a great game.
The Norse actually came out swinging, and took a 4-0 lead! NKU opened the scoring in the first inning on a solo homer run by T.J. Alas. In the second, Chad Roberts scored on a passed ball to put the Norse up 2-0. The Norse poured it on in the third, but Roberts hitting an RBI doubled, and then scoring himself on an RBI single by Mike Moffatt. Louisville’s starting pitcher Bryan Hoeing didn’t last past the second inning, but his offense came around to bail him out. Adam Wolf picked up the win for the Cards, throwing 2.1 scoring innings while striking out three. Relief pitcher Sam Bordner also pitched two scoreless innings, while Lincoln Henzman earned the save by pitching a perfect ninth.
Offensively, Louisville was lead by Drew Ellis and Zeke Pinkham. Ellis started the comeback with a solo home run of his own in the fourth inning. He then followed that up with a two-run moon shot in the fifth to put the Cards up 5-4. Both players were 2-4 on the day with three RBI, with Pinkham getting his first career home run. Charlie Jerger ended up taking the loss for Northern Kentucky. It was a funny game with some controversial calls, with both head coaches making appearances out on the field. Norse head coach Todd Asalon was even ejected with the classic chest bump and dirt kicking. Final: Cardinals 6, Norse 4.
A fun game for Trevor and I. Some of the photos don’t show it, but there was a decent crowd and they were entertaining and good natured themselves. We actually don’t have any ballgames planned out between now and the end of May, but that doesn’t mean we won’t find one to take in. Most likely it will be the Cards or Bats, but the Brian playing on the weekends sometimes it’s hard to find one that fits our schedule.
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
Bats get Clipped
Louisville Bats vs. Columbus Clippers (International League)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: Another fun night of baseball, this time back in the ‘Ville. This was the last game my dad would be at on this visit. He plans on coming back next month, though, for some more minor league ball and the ACC Championships. It was a beautiful night, as the weather just seemed to get better as the weekend went along. Brian played on the playground most of the game, but was happy to spend some time with his papa, too.
Brian won this hat, but gave it to his Papa for his golf games
This was a good game, with the Bats down, but certainly not out. Louisville was lead offensively by catcher Rob Brantly, who went 3-6 with four RBI’s, including a 2-run homer in the seventh and a game tying double in the eighth. Jesse Winker helped out by going 2-4 with an RBI and run scored, and Philip Ervin went 2-5 with two runs scored.
On the mound, Jackson Stephens got the start for Louisville. In four innings pitched, he gave up five runs while striking out four. Luckily the offense and bullpen bailed him out, so he didn’t get the decision. Evan Mitchell ended up taking the loss, though, after giving up the winning run in the 10th. He pitched two innings and gave up three hits. Final in 10: Bats 8, Clippers 9.
Another fun night, with it being capped off with Brian getting to meet Jake the Diamond Dog. We saw him a couple of times last season, as he acted as bat boy and brought water to the umpires. He was hot and tired by the end of the night, though. We look forward to our next game, which will probably be right back here at Louisville Slugger Field.
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
Bats vs. Reds…sort of
Louisville Bats vs. Cincinnati Reds (Exhibition)
Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: We’re so glad that Bats baseball is slowly creeping back into our lives! On Friday night the Bats (sort of) hosted the Cincinnati Reds for an exhibition game. I say ‘sort of’ for the Bats because in all reality, this was a Red’s Futures team, which probably very few from this roster will be actually seeing time in Louisville this summer. Probably more guys from the Reds roster will be here, but it’s still baseball, and it was still a fun game. We got there as early as we could, to get our Adam Duvall bobble-head and our free Reds hats (we still cheered for our ‘Bats’, though). As the Reds were warming up, we noticed catcher Rob Brantly, who we saw play up in Michigan for the Whitecaps. Since they were old pals, Brian decided to go chat with him a bit.
And here were the starting line-ups for the teams:
The obvious big pop for the night was for Louisville’s own Adam Duvall. He had a nice game, too, going 2-2 with a double.
The game was low scoring, with both runs coming in the first two innings. Rookie Davis started on the bump for the Reds. He pitched three innings, allowing one earned run and three hits with two walks, two strikeouts and a hit batsman. Tyler Mahle started for the Bats/Futures team, hurling five solid innings and allowing one run and seven hits with a walk and three strikeouts over 87 pitches. He gave up his only run in the first inning, when Billy Hamilton scored on a Joey Votto base-hit RBI. The Bats scored their lone run on a Aristides Aquino solo home run. Final: Bats 1, Reds 1.
The game didn’t have a lot of action, but still a fun night with Brian. We have tickets for the Reds game on Thursday, but the weather calls for lots of rain, so I’m doubting we’ll get that game in. The Bats also start this week (officially), so we’ll still try to get a game in somewhere, somehow. I’ll leave off with a pic of Brian and Buddy Bat, who we were both glad to see for the first time in 2017!
Brian with Buddy Bat
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
Minoring In Baseball 