A Wild Night in Indy

The victory bell is rung by a member of the Indiana National Guard after the Indians walk off win

Last night I made the short trip from West Lafayette to Indy to see the Pawtucket Red Sox take on the Indianapolis Indians. I love going to Victory Field, but I just don’t get there as much as I would like to. It is a beautiful field, and they do a great job of giving you the most for your money. I started my night off by having a seat in the Captain Morgan Cove. This little area in left field  is a great hangout. I had been reading about how Sun King was premiering their new beers out here all season on the Indians Twitter feed. So I walked out there to try whatever they had on tap. What happened when I got out there surprised me. They gave me free samples! Yes that is right. I went to a professional baseball game and received some free beer. I tried a Popcorn Pilsner that actually has two pounds of popcorn in each keg. I also tried the Sunlight Cream Ale. I took the Cream Ale to my seat to watch the start of the game.

Klein Leads Railcats to Win

Backup catcher Craig Maddux modeling the throwback uniforms

Tonight I went to Gary to see the Railcats take on the Saint Paul Saints. The Railcats were wearing throwback uniforms that were supposed to be from 1919. Well when I say throwback uniforms I mean jerseys. The pants were just a different color white. I was excited to get some pictures of these uniforms, but for some reason they just looked weird. Sometimes throwback uniforms don’t pan out. This may have been one of those times.

Adam Klein hitting his first inning double

Adam Klein gave the Railcats a 2-0 lead after two innings tonight, and the Railcats held on to win 2-1. Klein doubled to lead off the bottom of the first inning. He scored on a SAC fly by Lorenzo Scott to give the ‘Cats a 1-0 lead. In the second inning Klein knocked in Mike Rohde with a single to give Gary a lead that they would not give up. Klein was 2-3 on the night with a walk, a run scored, and the RBI. That is pretty good production out of your lead off spot.

Railcats vs. Goldeyes Photo Gallery

I really was having fun taking pictures yesterday so I took more than I normally would. I was trying a few new things, and actually snapped a couple of good pictures in the process. Here are a few that I liked for one reason or another:

A young fan throws out one of the first pitches of the game

Carlos May shares a laugh with Brian Grening after throwing out his first pitch

Great Scott!

Lorenzo Scott watching his first inning triple track towards the outfield fence

Yesterday I found myself back at the Steelyard for the Railcats game against the Goldeyes of Winnipeg. I was unsure of which game to see on this homestand, but the announcement that Carlos May would be at the Sunday game sealed the deal. I did not know too much about Carlos, but after reading his story I knew that I wanted to meet him.

Carlos May signing the glove of a young fan

When the Railcats have had other dignitaries signing at games you had to get to the stadium early in order to get a good spot in line. I rushed into the stadium and around the kids getting their free baseball gloves. I knew that Carlos was supposed to be in the Stadium Club in right field, but I saw no signs on my way out there. I was shocked when I saw him at a table up against the building with no line. Many people had already entered the stadium before I did, and nobody thought to get his autograph? I had him sign a ball for me, and one for a future contest on this site. I really wish I had taken some of my cards of him for him to sign. A few people trickled in and out, but nobody really seemed interesting in the former ball player in right field. That is too bad. He had a great career ahead of him before he lost his right thumb while with the Marine Reserves. He still came back and had a very good career despite losing the thumb on his throwing hand. I was happy to meet him, and since nobody was around I asked a Railcats employee if they would take my picture with Carlos. I had already taken some pictures of him so I knew that my camera was working. For some reason though whenever I stepped into the frame with Carlos the camera would show an error message. Thankfully they had a camera to take my picture with. Today during lunch I saw that they sent it to me as promised. I guess I really was meant to be behind this camera instead of in front of it. Carlos was also honored before the game, and even threw out the first pitch. It was nice to meet one of the sluggers from the Sox teams of the 70’s.

…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.