Written by I took the afternoon off from the office to sneak out to the ballpark and take in the final game of the Snappers/Kernels series today and it was well worth the penalty I’ll pay of having more work to do tomorrow.
The Kernels won the game 5-4 in 11 innings. Given the heat and the fact that I went straight from the office and thus was still in “business casual” attire, I really didn’t need a four hour extra innings game, but it certainly was entertaining.
Lefty Ryan O’Rourke threw six solid innings for the Snappers but was left with a no decision as his team mates committed four errors behind him (OK, technically only three were committed behind him since O’Rourke committed one of those errors himself when he lobbed a pick off throw to 1B well down the RF line).
The latter stages had everything a fan could want to see in a game. Strategic bunting, clutch hitting, diving catches, good baserunning, controversial umpiring, and a 9th inning manager ejection (the Kernels manager, Brent Del Chiaro… though Snapper manager Nelson Prada and 1B coach Tommy Watkins came close to getting early showers one play later, following what could best be referred to as a pretty obvious “make up” call).
In the end, the Kernels won the game on a walk-off HR down the LF line. If it was fair, it wasn’t by much, but it was called fair and that’s all that matters I guess.
Here are a few pictures of some of today’s action… I didn’t take as many as Sunday, but we have a few shots of guys who didn’t play in Sunday’s game.
Infielder Adam Bryant gets low at 2B
OF Wang-Wei Lin gets some swings in during a catcher's visit to the mound
Coach Tommy Watkins with instructions to Lin at 1B
Starting pitcher Ryan O'Rourke delivers
Catcher Tobias Streich glances toward the Kernels dugout
Relief pitcher Michael Tonkin delivers and SS Daniel Santana breaks to cover 3B as the hitter squares to bunt
Lefty reliever Jose Gonzalez strides toward home
Reliever Nelvin Fuentes gave up the game winning HR, though he and the Snappers weren't convinced it was a fair ball
Pinch runner Derek McCallum scored the tying run in the top of the 9th on a wild pitch as Tobias Streich gives him the "get down" sign
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Nice photos Jim. Looks like a great baseball park.
Thanks, mark. Perfect Game Field/Veterans Stadium is pretty nice, even if you can’t see much of it in my pictures. That does sound like an idea for a future post, though… a little pictorial tour of my home-away-from-home during the summer months. The ballpark is about 10 years old now, I think… maybe even a little older. It’s showing its age a bit and money is tight but I believe they’ve been working on some upgrades over the last year or two.
Personally, I think there’s one glaring design defect that may have been the result of the “footprint” of the area they had to squeeze the ballpark in to, and that’s the lack of actual bullpens. That’s really the only “bush league” thing about the ballpark, in my view, but I really wish they would work on that somehow.