Success

The ballgame turned out to be a lot of fun (was there any doubt?). Beautiful weather. Decent crowd. No parking issues. About the only thing that went wrong was me looking at the wrong roster for the two teams when I wrote the previous post.

There were quite a few players I recognized at the game: Daryle Ward (the hecklers' main target), Wilson Betemit, Norris Hopper, Elijah Dukes (hit by a pitch twice), Pete Orr, Saul Rivera and Jorge Sosa (throwing smoke). And Mike Morse was the big hero, hitting a two-run triple in the seventh inning for the game-winning hit as Syracuse rallied to win 5-3.

But the biggest news was in the stands, in Section 105, Row 4, seats 5 and 6. Right behind the visitors' dugout. That's where my daughter and I sat.

You see, it was quite the entertaining game. Not only was there a comeback win and a two-run triple, but there was also a home run, runners tagged out at the plate in the respective sixth and eighth innings, Charlotte manager Chris Chambliss being thrown out of the game right in front of us while arguing one of the play-at-the-plate calls, Syracuse center fielder Justin Maxwell being thrown out for arguing strikes, and three artful, rally-killing double plays.

But the best highlight of the game: It was the bottom of the seventh inning. The first Syracuse batter doubled. The next batter bunted him over to third, but the pitcher threw wildly to first and the first runner scored. The next batter also sacrificed. Then Maxwell came up and laid down another bunt down the third base line.

The ball hugged the line for quite awhile, and it looked like Maxwell had a hit. But at the last second it rolled foul. The crowd groaned. Then, my daughter, who allegedly does not enjoy the sport, turned to me, and this is what she said:

"I like this basebally stuff. It's fun."

Success.