Tagged: Robert Stephenson

Jurassic (Ball)Park

Louisville Bats vs. Toledo Mud Hens (International League)

Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY:  Back in Kentucky, this is a game Brian suggested we attend when the schedule first came out.  With both of us being a huge fan of the Jurassic Park/World franchise, I could hardly ague with him.  The Bats were playing the Mud Hens, and with us being Tiger fans, we sat down the first base side.  In fact, we were directly in front of the Mud Hens bullpen, and were able to watch starting pitcher Artie Lewicki warm up.  When Lewicki’s arm was ready to go, Toledo pitching coach Jeff Pico gave Brian the ball.

This game was definitely a pitchers’ duel.  For the Bats, Robert Stephenson threw six innings, only giving up one run and striking out six.  As for Lewicki, he pitched 6.1 innings, giving up just the two runs while racking up eight K’s.

Throughout the night, the Bats were having fun with the Jurassic Night concept, having a dinosaur roam the ballpark, as well as graphics up on the big screen.

Back to the game, Louisville received all of their offense from Mason Williams and Brandon Dixon, both of whom went 2-4 on the night with an RBI.

This was a fun night at the ballpark, with all of the dinosaur things going on and some great baseball.  Brian and I ended the night by sitting way up in the right field cheap seats.

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

Bats & Birthdays Vol. 2

Louisville Bats vs. Indianapolis Indians (International League)

27801254214_5992093a01_zLouisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY:   The second part of our birthday adventure took us to the Bats game, as they hosted the rival Indians. Hey, if it’s my birthday, then why is Brian the one who gets to meet Buddy Bat and ride the merry-go-round??!

27765287083_901f35e03e_z28098563010_2e3e82c07a_zIt was another hot one, in the mid-nineties, as we settled in under the sun.  In all honesty, we only lasted there for a couple of innings before finding some seats in the shade.

28302203421_357a0caf25_z28135372170_9d648cba54_z27801230434_89214594ca_zThe Bats have been playing good ball lately, and this was another solid game for the home team. Louisville was lead offensively by Hernan Iribarren, who went 2-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.  Also having a good day at the dish was Donald Lutz, who contributed and  RBI going 2-4.  Jermaine Curtis and Jesse Winkler each went 1-3 with an RBI and run scored, respectively.

28385224396_d0b986b162_z27801248374_9d6f84a23f_k28385184626_4c34c41555_zOn the bump, Robert Stephenson each the victory for the Bats.  He pitched six innings, only giving up two hits, while striking out four and walking five. J.J. Hoover ended up earning the save.  FINAL: Bats 6, Indians 4.

28380964015_0cec6400db_z28385171586_8e5fd8924b_z28385175466_3f9ff0c4d0_zA fun game, despite the heat, and an all around good birthday.  I always feel very blessed and lucky to be able to have these experiences with my kids.  It was a long day for all of us, especially in the sun, but we all had a great time.  We hope to be back at Louisville Slugger Field next month when the famous Chicken will be here entertaining the crowd! Until then, here’s a little game video:

Video and photos property of Minoring In Baseball

The End is Near

West Michigan Whitecaps vs. Dayton Dragons

Brian and I with Whitecaps mascot Crash the River Rascal!

Fifth-Third Ballpark–Comstock Park, MI: I’m not talking about the doomsday prophecy, but last weekend was the second-to-last game for the Whitecaps, and most likely our very last game of the 2012 season. It’s always bitter-sweet to see a season come to an end, but we have a lot of great memories to look back on. This was another memorable game for the kids and I, as we were able to get onto the field again and see some of the players and coaches. Brian really wanted to see Crash the river rascal one last time, so that was our priority! We didn’t have much of a chance after that for playing catch or getting many other pics with the players, but I did get one with the kids in front of the dugout. Brian was able to play on the playground and jump around on the ‘bouncy house’, which burns up some of his energy (Lily and Trevor are too big for the playground…where does the time go???). The kids Papa and Nana were able to join us, too, so it was a great day spent with family at the ballpark. I’m really going to miss the sunshine and the green grass, as fall, and soon winter, will be blasting us with the reality that we live up north. I was really glad we were able to make this trip, though, with school starting and two birthdays within ten days of each other, this was definitely a ‘no frills’ trip. Don’t worry…I still fed them and even got them their ice cream!

The game itself was a fun one, as the ‘Caps built and early 5-run lead on the Dragons. That was no easy task, either, considering that Robert Stephenson was on the mound for Dayton, who was the Cincinnati Reds first round draft pick last year and the organizations top pitching prospect. For West Michigan, Zach Maggard hit a two-run double in the second inning, to put the ‘Caps up 3-0. In the third inning, Jason King and Patrick Leyland each had RBI singles to put them up 5-0. Eugenio Suarez gave West Michigan some insurance, with an RBI triple in the sixth inning. The Dragons came back to score a few runs off starter Jeff Ferrell, but he held on for the win. Ferrell is now 4-1 in his last six games. Michael Torrealba pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save. In all, the Whitecaps ended up with 15 hits in the game, with five doubles and one triple. It’s good to see them playing hard, even though they won’t be making the playoffs. I still can’t believe that it will be another six months at least until another baseball game. This was an end to and extremely busy week for us, that saw Trevor turning 10, his first football game, and a couple of trips to the county fair. The kids last hurrah before school starting up. Final: Whitecaps 6, Dragons 4.

Lily and Brian had to switch roles for this one, as Brian wasn’t tall enough to be ‘the boy’

Photos property of  Minoring In Baseball