Take me out to the ball game: Families come out to enjoy baseball home opener
The sun was shining, snow was melting, and, in the days leading up to Friday, it became clear the opening day at Theunissen Stadium would finally happen.
After postponing two home games because of weather and field conditions, the Central Michigan baseball team took on Bowling Green on familiar ground.
But, that ground had hours of preparation, leading up until minutes before the first pitch, to be ready for the home opener.
Part of that preparation rested on the shoulders of Bob Erekson, an employee in the Landscape Operations department for CMU Facilities Management.
“I was here early getting the field set to go,” Erekson said. “Sometimes when it’s all done, I get to sit back and take in a game. Today, I was lucky enough to be able to watch with these guys.”
Erekson smiled and gestured toward a freckle-faced boy grinning underneath a baseball cap and a girl shyly wringing her hands as she swayed from side to side.
Standing by his parents and sister, Emma, six-year-old Rowan couldn’t hide the excitement on his face.
“My favorite part was eating the popcorn,” Rowan said.
“It was just such a nice day for a game,” Erekson said.
Of the 256 in attendance at Friday’s game, many came with families.
Geoff Conn, of St. Louis, also brought his two kids, Kasey and Kyle, to the ballpark.
Conn said the beautiful weather was a great reason for him, his daughter and son to make the drive to Mount Pleasant, along with seeing a familiar face.
“It’s not too often we can come to games, but we had the chance today,” Conn said. “I also thought it’d be nice because a guy from our hometown, Kenton San Miguel, plays on the team.”
San Miguel did get to pitch in an inning in the 1-0 loss but walked two of the three batters he faced.
Despite the loss, Conn said he was still glad he came out.
“It was a great game,” Conn said. “You can’t win ‘em all.”
The loss hit head coach Steve Jaksa a little harder.
“(It’s) everything you’d want the home opener to be; except for a win,” he said. “... We had a great day to play, looks like we had a really nice crowd, very enthusiastic. We were just one hit short, that’s what it comes down to.”
Jordan Foley, who pitched 7.2 innings, said he was disappointed in the loss but knew his team battled the entire game.
Foley said his team didn’t give up, and the stands full of supporters helped them do that.
“It was good to play in front of the fans; it was great weather out there,” Foley said. “Fans were getting pretty rowdy above us, so it was great to play back home.”
