Box Score: http://www.milb.com/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2015_05_30_nhmaax_nbraax_1&mode=gameday
This was our "make up" game since my dad didn't want to go on Friday night and it felt good to see the Rock Cats win again. We didn't get there that early or late but had no trouble parking, though once again parking did seem to become an issue as the night went on and more people filled in. The one theme this show did have was Halloween though there were not very many people dressed up in costumes from what I could tell. This did however- somehow- manage to make it though so that some guy in a Teletubbies costume was doing the in between innings wastes of time instead of Andy. Those in between innings wastes of times seem to be a necessary evil when the team moves to Hartford but Andy isn't, right?
Aside from a pretty exciting back and forth game that went into extra innings, there were some ejections as the home plate umpire seemed unable to tell the difference between a ball and a strike. After the Rock Cats manager was thrown out of the game, it looked as if later on in the game Trevor Story was going to get into a physical altercation with the same ump and things all around just seemed to be getting heated despite the fact that the cool night was setting upon us.
My biggest complaint from this game is that while we were in extra innings, a long drive was hit to the outfield. I'm talking stuck way out there. And the runner- the go ahead, win the game and end it all for the night runner- was held at third. I questioned why and so did my dad. It made no sense. There were two outs, so what was the risk? It would have been a close play at the plate, but you have to take those risks. What if the throw was off and that allowed the run to score? What if it was just simply beat out? But, nope, they couldn't push it like I would have and you know what happened on the next play? The next batter popped up to end the inning. My scenario was much more exciting. Perhaps I should be a third base coach.
The crowd was particularly wild as well, a nice bit of fun for a Saturday night when there were no real give aways to speak of but people (for the second night in a row, mind you) seemingly watching baseball just for the love of the game. I got to see a late inning video made up of inspiring movie clips that I'd never seen before. I had told my dad that the Rock Cats especially needed that one play where the runner was held up at third because if the Fisher Cats scored on the top of one of the innings, the Rock Cats would not likely be able to comeback in the bottom of the inning and that would be the game.
It did feel for quite some time though as if we were stuck in a stalemate, destined not to end any time in the forseeable future, but that must be what most tied games in extra innings feel like. Even a young kid behind us at one point yelled "Just end the game already", her patience growing thin. My son was doing okay, but it was getting late and so as I told my dad (and then told my wife also) we'd leave after the next inning regardless of whether or not the game was over, the game came to its end and the Rock Cats won. Yes, I should have said that two innings prior, but hindsight is 20/20 and all.
On the way out, with nearly every fan left celebrating-- they started leaving by the seventh inning and then every inning since then some more would clear out, most with seemingly no hope for an ending to come any time soon-- we got to walk by Rocky and give him a high-five as we left. I think it was the first time I ever saw my dad high-five someone who wasn't a kid. And my son was certainly excited that he got to see Rocky again (without his Superman cape this time) before we left because, well, he's always up for seeing Rocky, who I thought had gone home for the night but somehow came back for a late rally just when his team needed him.
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