…And Then Lose Game Two of the Doubleheader

Matt Jackson warms up prior to the game

The Silverhawks were not so lucky in the second game of the doubleheader. The offense never got going, and they were shutout again. The Tincaps scored the same two runs that they scored in the first game, but this time got the W. This game was hard to watch as a Hawks fan. They led off the game with a double by Mike Freeman in the first, and added a triple by Chris Jarrett in the second, but could not get another hit. That was due to a strong pitching performance by Matt Jackson. He pitched five innings only giving up the two hits and striking out five.

Closer Adam Dominick warms up before going in the game

The Tincaps relievers were good as well. Yefri Carvajal pitched a scoreless 8th, and Adam Dominick pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the game. Not only did they not give up a run, they did not give up a hit.

Silverhawks pitching coach Wellington Cepeda makes a mound visit to talk to J.R. Bradley during Saturday's game

This was my third trip to the Cove this season, and the third time I have seen J.R. Bradley pitch for the Silverhawks. Sadly it was also the third time I have seen him lose as well. He really did not pitch badly. He just didn’t have the defense behind him yesterday. If you can to almost six innings only giving up two runs you should have a shot at the win. He did not though.

Zach Walters flips the ball to Mike Freeman in between innings

This game will be remembered by me more for the weird top of the sixth inning than anything else. I had three Silverhawk errors on my scoresheet, but the official scorer only gave them two. The inning started with an error by Silverhawks third baseman Matt Helm. After a fly out to left Wande Olabisi hit a ball to second baseman Zach Walters who was near the bag. After a moment of indecision he flipped the ball to shortstop Mike Freeman who was on the bag. The ball was wide of the bag, and hit off the edge of Freeman’s mitt. I gave Walters an error on the throw. Reading the official log of the game I see where it was just scored a fielder’s choice with no error given. To me that is a play that should be made. In my mind the batter gets a fielder’s choice, and the runner that was on first before the hit only makes it to second because of the error. I kept my sheet how I had it. I am way too easy usually when it comes to giving errors, but this definitely was one. Another error by Helm allowed the second run of the game to score. This was rough for Bradley who was pulled after the third error of the inning, but when he received no run support from his team it would not have mattered.

During the game a ball was hit by Zach Walters just a section over to my right. A grown man took the ball from right in front of a little girl after it landed. I went many years without getting a ball at a game, but I would never take one from a kid. The little girl moved over a section and started crying just a few rows behind me. A Silverhawk usher made his way through the construction zone to try and find a ball he knew was hit there earlier in the game. He found the ball and surprised the little girl with it. That made here day, and showed once again why I love going to games at the Cove. He went out of his way to make her happy. They really are trying to give the fans the best experience possible. If you have the time make your way out to the Cove to see what they are doing this year.

Here are some of the pictures that did not make the main portion of the post:

Roberto Rodriguez pounds a ball into the dirt. The Silverhawks had a rough time getting good wood on the ball in game two

Ramon Castillo is easily thrown out at second after a failed hit and run

Rabbits love carrots

Here are my scorecards for game two:

The Tincaps game two scoresheet

The game two scoresheet for the Silverhawks

I Finally Get to See the Silverhawks Get a Win…

The young fans ready to attack the eggs on the field prior to the game

This was my fourth Silverhawks game of the year, and the first time that I saw them win. I really wanted to go because it was a beautiful day, and besides that it was another doubleheader. When I walked into the stadium I realized that I may have made a mistake. On the way in I saw a young kid crying, and his mother up in arms over how they were charging to get into the game. Because of the charge her daughter would not be able to attend the Easter Egg hunt. Of course we all know that you have to pay to get into games, or at least I thought everyone did. The field was full of kids when I sat down, and then I realized that I was about to be surrounded by them. I moved as far towards the left field wall as I could, and had a peaceful Saturday.

Whitecaps Sweep Doubleheader, But Just Happy to Be Playing

Kevin Eichhorn warms up prior to the game

After five tries the Whitecaps finally were able to play a road game, and they celebrated by winning game one very easily. Game two was a little tougher for them, but they still won 6-3. One of the reasons that I wanted to see this team was to see Mark Eichhorn’s son Kevin pitch. He started game one for the Whitecaps. He seemed to be doing really well until the fifth. He gave up two runs to the Silverhawks, and was pulled with two outs in the inning. If he had been left in to get one more out he would have been the winner of the game. Since he was pulled he did not qualify.

Mistakes Cost Silverhawks Game One of Doubleheader

Anything on the field after the last two days is a good thing

The Silverhawks and Whitecaps had been trying to play a game since Friday night, and were finally able to do so this afternoon at Coveleski Stadium. The Whitecaps had been rained out five consecutive times. That has to be hard to handle if you are a ballplayer. With sunny skies thought they were able to get a doubleheader in this afternoon.

Silverhawks Drop the Ball on Opening Night

The home team bullpen home plate on the 'dirt'

Tonight I was able to attend Opening Night at Coveleski Stadium. I was excited to see some of the additions to the new park. They have started a dramatic overhaul of ‘the Cove’ to make it a little more fan friendly. Just a couple of weeks ago the Hawks tweeted a picture of the field that was completely covered in dirt. Tonight it was covered by field turf. The first thing that I noticed though was that the warning track was a dirt color, but was also field turf. I was wondering what kind of warning it would be if it does not feel any different? Maybe they have done something so that you can feel it. It is still weird to watch a baseball bounce on the ‘grass’ and see the black splashes as it hits.

The Cove Gets a Facelift

A panoramic view of the stadium in 2006

I just saw some pictures online today of the proposed changes to Coveleski Stadium in South Bend. I have always enjoyed Silverhawks games, and it will be awesome to see how this stadium looks this summer. You can read about the changes here, and then see them for yourself next summer.