It was a stormy day, thunder storm warnings and tornado warnings. Needless to say, Ross and I decided to stay home.
It gave me a chance to organize the autographs I’ve collected this spring:
I can’t even begin to decipher all the names but I can tell you that the following players are on there, somewhere: Bobby Abreu, Domonic brown, Phillipe Aumont, Justin DeFratus, Cody Asche, Tony Gwynn Jr, Ruben Amaro Jr, Darin Ruf, Wil Nieves, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Maikel Franco, Kevin Frandsen, Kenny Giles,
Kelly Dugan, Aaron Altherr, Marlon Byrd, Ben Revere…I think.
I also got quite a few balls signed:
I was also fortunate enough to be given a bat, my FIRST bat! It was Freddy Galvis’!
It was our first game at Coca-Cola Park. Ross and I had tickets for the first game of the Pawtucket Red Sox and Lehigh Valley IronPigs, but due to the flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee (see my post: Deeper and Deeper) Ross and I did not feel safe traveling that far when our ability to cross the river was so precarious.
Even though Allentown is technically farther from us than Reading, it takes us about the same amount of time to get there as it does to Reading.
One thing I always take notice of is the atmosphere of a stadium as well as the vibe of the crowd. The day got off to a good start when a gentleman saw Ross and I taking pictures of each other and he came over and took this picture. It’s one of the few I have of the two of us at a game where we not all contorted from one of us trying to hold the camera out far enough to get us both in the shot.
Do you remember a few months ago when I was at a park where I grabbed a cheesesteak for dinner and I learned that important life lesson about never eating at the only concession stand without a line? It was a good sign that every single solitary stand at Coca-Cola Park was LONG! The first place we stopped was “Aw Schucks”, a stand selling roasted ears of corn on the cob.
Since getting braces, I haven’t had corn on the cob and at this time of the year it kills me. I love corn. Ross offered to get one and let me see if I could manage it.
Awshucks Corn at Coca Cola Park.
To my surprise, I was able to eat it! I ran back and got an ear for myself. Ross’ ear was an ear “Aw Shucks” style, with butter, a “secret blend of southwestern spices” and parmesan cheese. I chose one brushed with butter and added salt and pepper. Both were wonderful! This corn may very well end up on my upcoming “best of” post after the conclusion of the season.
Next, we wandered out onto the outfield walkway:
The Scoreboard at Coca Cola ParkLooking In From The Outfield Walkway at Coca Cola Park
We then had a “Box of Rivets” which are Pretzel Factory pretzel bites with red, white and blue salt. Very yummy and much better than the standard “Super Pretzels” normally sold at sporting events.
Rivet Pretzel
We continued around and as we came to left-center field, we looked up and there in the sky was a beautiful rainbow. It had to have stayed in the sky for almost half an hour. After a week of rain and flooding, it was a welcome sight! We also hoped that it was a harbinger of good things to come.
Rainbow Over Coca Cola Park
The stadium has a lot of interactive things to do, a mini golf putt-in game, bouncy things for the kids, speed pitch, a playground and my favorite…a cut out “Thingy” where you could stick your head through to take a picture…
Hey!Betsy with Ferrus and FeFe
As we continued around, we found the “Pigs to the Bigs” Wall:
Pigs to the Bigs Wall
Here, each star has the name of former IronPigs players who went on to play in the Majors, like Dominic Brown, Vance Worley and John Mayberry, Jr among others.
The first indicator of how important this game was, not only was Ruben Amarro, Jr. in attendance, but also Dave Montgomery and Steve Noworyta.
Ruben Amarro and Steve Noworyta.
Pitcher Ryan Edell looked good but gave up a run early…once he settled in, he was rock solid. He doesn’t have a lot of speed, he uses his placement and control to get strike outs. He reminds me of a younger version of the Phillies’ Jamie Moyer.
Ryan Edell
He was simply amazing with how he shook off that early run and he just dominated the Sox from that point on.
Brandon Moss came up in the second and hit the ball solidly to left center to tie the game.
Brandon Moss
In the third, Moss hit another one that was inches from going over but it bounced back, Scott Podsednik scored and Kevin Frandsen was thrown out at the plate. The Pigs were ahead 2-1
The Pigs stayed in the lead until the eighth when Tagg Bozied missed a tag of the lead off better that eventually allowed the Sox to drive in a run to tie it up.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the tenth. When Moss returned to the plate with the bases loaded…and then…
The Crowd Goes Wild
Moss hit a single to drive in the winning run! The crowd went HOG WILD!
It was an amazing game! The atmosphere was electric. I can’t speak to what the feeling would be during a regular season game, but this, only the second post season in IronPigs history was amazing.
The people in this stadium were super friendly, the facility is one of the nicest I’ve ever been to, it’s almost a perfect blend of the amenities of Citizens’ Bank Park, with the intimacy and “home town” feeling that I love about Bright House Field.
It was an amazing win. I was blown away. Where else in the world do people chant “Oink” in unison?
The Pigs now go to Pawtucket for up to three games. They only need one more win to bring home the bacon.
Baseball Betsy 