Tagged: Wildcats
John Cropp Classic
John Cropp Stadium-Lexington, KY: Our original plan for after our adventure at the Stache-A-Palooza, was to check out some Kentucky Wildcat baseball. The team was scheduled to play Miami (Ohio) at 1:00 at Cliff Hagan Stadium. Uh, however, when we arrived at the Cliff, we found it empty, with no baseball teams in sight. Apparently, the game had been rescheduled, but we never saw any notification of this. Still not sure WHY the game was changed, the weather wasn’t as bad as the day before, but maybe because the UK basketball team was playing at the same time? Personally, I think it’s stupid to re-arrange baseball for stupid basketball, but again, that’s just me. Not letting this ruin our day, though, we drove over to the UK softball venue, John Cropp Stadium, to find the ladies hosting a tournament there, aptly named the John Cropp Classic. The Michigan Wolverines were playing the Evansville Aces when we arrived, and it was cool to see a somewhat (old) home team on the field. We enjoyed the game, as the Wolverines made short work of the Aces. Final: Michigan 11, Evansville 2.
The next game in the tourney featured the home team Wildcats taking on the Kent State Golden Flashes. Between games, Brian and some of the other kids took time to make signs supporting their Kentucky team. Brian’s sign was a hit, as many of the girls acknowledged him, and one player even took a picture of him with it. To be honest, we only stayed a few innings as the cold was getting to us, but the home team ended up with the victory anyway. Not sure when we’ll make the trip to Lexington again, but will probably plan it around a Legends and Wildcats baseball game, and if the ladies are in town, we’ll hit another game here, too. Final: Kentucky 2, Kent State 0.
Wildcat Fan Day
Nutter Field House-Lexington, KY: Brian simply woke up one day and declared: ‘I’m a UK fan, dad.’ Uh, ok, that’s fine, I guess. When I asked him ‘why’, he simply replied: ‘I just am.’ Again, ok. Kids are funny like that. I might not ever really know what event turned his loyalties to the Big Blue Nation, but at least it gave us an excuse to travel to Lexington for the Wildcats inaugural Fan Day hosted by the university’s baseball and softball teams.
They day started with a short clinic for the kids, then the teams split up for an autograph session. The players were separated by position (INF, OF, P, C), which made it easier for the kids to jump from table to table, and maybe converse with a player or two they share a position with. Brian even got to chat with a fellow North Oldham Little Leaguer (an alum, anyway) in Connor Heady, who is a senior infielder:
We’re still a big fan and supporter of college softball so Brian wanted to meet some of the girls and get some autographs from them, also. They were super nice to him and of course signed his poster and hat, as well as posing for a few photos. We’ll definitely try to catch some Wildcat softball games this spring. A baseball-softball double-header sounds like a good day to me, anyway.
In all, this was a great way to start out the 2017 baseball (and softball) season. College baseball is less then a month away, and we look forward to being in the stands. Oh, and Brian ran into more players in the parking lot he needed pictures with. After all, as he told them, he is the biggest Kentucky fan…
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
Promotion courtesy of Kentucky Wildcats/NCAA