Day 2 (8/2): Keystone kids
BINGHAMTON NY -- Mental note: Don't stay at this particular Rodeway Inn, because the neighbors are noisy. Not across-the-street neighbors, but other-side-of-the-wall neighbors. And what I thought was the garbage truck's first visit of the night was actually a tow truck taking their vehicle away.
Putting that aside by getting breakfast at the Dunkin' Donuts across the street, we headed off for an unprecedented three games in two cities on one day.
The early game was a noontime showdown in State College where, instead of WVU and Penn State, it was their ballparks' summer tenants, the Black Bears and Spikes, facing off in the shadow of Mount Nittany. (I had hoped to catch up with the son of one of my teachers who's now the assistant men's soccer coach for the Lions, but after finding the soccer field empty, I had to give up the search for "her Chad.")
The Bears clawed their way back (sorry!) but the Spikes won it in the eleventh, 5-4, on a warm sunny day.
The doubleheader in Binghamton, about three hours away, started at 5:35. I knew there was a good chance we'd be late, but with the Spikes game ending about 3:15 leading us to get trapped in Scranton's rush-hour traffic, we arrived at NYSEG (New York State Electric & Gas) Stadium just in time for the top of the fifth inning.
The program hawker apologized for handing me 18 $1s after I handed him a $20. Jokingly, I responded that the girls down at the club wouldn't mind. (I hope he knew meant that jokingly.)
When halftime came -- Harrisburg won the first game, 4-2 -- those on the Pokemon Go were let loose in the outfield to find their inner Pikachu. Meanwhile, I was staring intently at my phone filling out the Game 1 scorecard via MiLB.com. (I don't know if that's cheating or not, but I'm sure I made just as many mistakes as if I had filled it out one batter at a time.)
Game two was another extra-inning affair, and since minor-league doubleheaders normally last seven innings, the Mets' 10th-inning 3-2 win over the Senators as the clock struck 11:00 seemed especially drawn out.
So to summarize, we saw 23 of a possible 28 innings spanning over 200 miles, two states, and 11 hours, with the home team winnning two of three. I just hope the Econo Lodge is quiet tonight.
Putting that aside by getting breakfast at the Dunkin' Donuts across the street, we headed off for an unprecedented three games in two cities on one day.
The early game was a noontime showdown in State College where, instead of WVU and Penn State, it was their ballparks' summer tenants, the Black Bears and Spikes, facing off in the shadow of Mount Nittany. (I had hoped to catch up with the son of one of my teachers who's now the assistant men's soccer coach for the Lions, but after finding the soccer field empty, I had to give up the search for "her Chad.")
The Bears clawed their way back (sorry!) but the Spikes won it in the eleventh, 5-4, on a warm sunny day.
The doubleheader in Binghamton, about three hours away, started at 5:35. I knew there was a good chance we'd be late, but with the Spikes game ending about 3:15 leading us to get trapped in Scranton's rush-hour traffic, we arrived at NYSEG (New York State Electric & Gas) Stadium just in time for the top of the fifth inning.
The program hawker apologized for handing me 18 $1s after I handed him a $20. Jokingly, I responded that the girls down at the club wouldn't mind. (I hope he knew meant that jokingly.)
When halftime came -- Harrisburg won the first game, 4-2 -- those on the Pokemon Go were let loose in the outfield to find their inner Pikachu. Meanwhile, I was staring intently at my phone filling out the Game 1 scorecard via MiLB.com. (I don't know if that's cheating or not, but I'm sure I made just as many mistakes as if I had filled it out one batter at a time.)
Game two was another extra-inning affair, and since minor-league doubleheaders normally last seven innings, the Mets' 10th-inning 3-2 win over the Senators as the clock struck 11:00 seemed especially drawn out.
So to summarize, we saw 23 of a possible 28 innings spanning over 200 miles, two states, and 11 hours, with the home team winnning two of three. I just hope the Econo Lodge is quiet tonight.