While looking for something to do on a Friday evening, five of us at the Campus Times made our way down to ESL Ballpark April 17 to catch a Rochester Red Wings game. Our group boasted a Mets fan, a Yankees fan, a Padres fan, a Twins fan, and one person more familiar with cricket than with baseball.
By sheer luck, Thursday’s game had gotten rained out, so we got to watch a split double header (two seven-inning games) instead of just the one nine-inning standoff. Our very own Red Wings (10-10) were playing against the Buffalo Bisons (10-10), and managed to fight their way to a split on the day, taking the win in the second game after a loss in the first.
We arrived in the fifth inning of the first game, as we weren’t able to shift previously established plans enough to get there in time for the entire bonus game. The last two innings of the game weren’t particularly inspiring; the Red Wings lost 6–2, scoring one of those two runs while we were in the stands.
Though discouraged by the result of the first game, we rallied to go get food, splitting into a burger/hot dog group and a fries/nachos/pretzel group. The nachos were disappointing (featuring just tortilla chips and melted cheese to dip them in), but the burger and hotdog were delicious, making our Brit feel distinctly American, and the fries and pretzel had the perfect amount of salt and crunch.
After eating, we popped into the team store to look around. While some of the merchandise was… interesting (red rubber shot glasses were a particularly fun find), some of it was really cool, and we decided to come back after the game to make some purchases.
Heading back to our seats, we settled in for the second game, which seemed like it would follow a similar pattern to the first when the Bisons took a quick 3–0 lead in the first inning. Clearly, though, the Red Wings had taken the 30-minute break between games to regroup, as they came out swinging in the bottom of the first to take a 3–5 lead on the power of a three-run double and two solo home runs.
As exciting as the first inning was, the rest of the game wasn’t; that 3–5 score at the end of the first was the final score as well, and though Buffalo briefly threatened in the 6th, second baseman Charles McAdoo hit into a double play to end the inning. The 7th ended quickly as well, earning Rochester a split on the day.
Even though the rest of the game wasn’t as exciting as the first inning, we still had a ton of fun. The five of us got to catch up with each other, yell in support, and explore the stadium. Two of us did end up going back to the store to acquire our very own Red Wings paraphernalia.
And that’s why baseball is America’s pastime. Even if the game isn’t great, an evening at the ballpark always is, and we would absolutely recommend everyone to grab a group of friends to go catch a game. Go Red Wings!
