Dateline: Fred Crabtree Park (Smith field), formerly Fox Mill 1
On a humid early fall evening, the Brewers took the field for their first game under the lights. The Brewers led off with Jacob who beat out a sharp ground ball to third. Marcus followed up with a tough infield single to put runners on at first and second with no outs. Matthew hit a line shot to third off the machine to load the bases. Michael followed with a grounder to third. The Rockies alertly tried to make the play at home but Jacob beat the throw and the Brewers were on the board with a 1-0 lead. Mitchell followed up with a hard RBI single off the machine and up the middle to score Marcus. Olivia followed with a sharp ground ball off the machine to the mound that scored Matthew and moved runners to third and second. Trenton hit a grounder to third to score the Michael and since it was the fourth run, the at bat came to an end. Brewers fans cheered as the scoreboard lit up with a 4-0 lead.
In the bottom of the first, the lead off batter popped out to the mound where Mitchell alertly made a great catch for out one. After a runner reached base, a sharp ground ball was hit to Matthew at second. He fielded in cleanly and tossed to his brother Michael who caught it easily for out two as part of the feared Allen-Allen, Ripkenesque, sibling infield. Another sharp grounder to Matthew at second resulted in out three as Matthew took the play unassisted. Stunned Rockies fans looked on as the young Brewers retired the Rockies before they even got a runner on second.
In the top of the second, the Brewers continued the offensive barrage. Arvind led off with a sharp grounder to second off the machine and the second baseman raced to first and handed it to the first baseman. It was a tough play but Arvind was ruled out by a step. Elizabeth calmly stepped to the plate and hit an infield single to third. Ian smashed a hard line drive to the outfield for a clean single. Isaac grounded out to second but advanced the runners to third and second with two outs. Jacob hit an RBI infield single to score Elizabeth. Matthew followed with a drive to left field to score Ian. Michael followed with a sharp infield single to load the bases. Mitchell hit a long drive to left to score Jacob. Marcus followed with a nice hit to third but the Rockies made the force out at third so the Brewers only scored three. The scoreboard lit up 7-0 Brewers as Brewers fans cheered heartily.
In the bottom of the second, the leadoff hitter hit a line shot to Matthew for out one. A number of close plays were made but the Rockies scored four runs in the bottom of the second. In the top of the third, Olivia led off with a drive off the machine to first but the first baseman made a nice play for out one. Trenton followed with an infield hit back to the mound off the machine. Arvind followed with a drive off the machine to put runners on at first and second. Elizabeth followed with a hard grounder off the machine to load the bases. Ian hit a tough pop up off the machine to third that end up as an RBI single to score Trenton. Isaac beat out an infield hit to score Arvind. Jacob grounded into a fielders choice at third, but it was a big RBI as Elizabeth scored. Marcus hit a nice shot, but unfortunately it went right to the third baseman for out a force at third for out three. The Rockies got a few hits in the bottom of the third and the game ended due to time constraints.
Coach Grossman was only available briefly for a post-game interview as he was immediately beginning preparations for the team practice tomorrow followed by another game under the lights against the very solid Yankees from the American League. He said, “I saw quite a bit of improvement since our last game. We have had a lot more hits off the machine and I think we may not be too far away from everyone getting a hit off the machine. On defense we still have some work to do with staying awake in the field. ” The team reporter asked if the late start on Saturday (7PM) was going to be tough on his team. Coach Grossman replied, “Well absolutely, any time you play a game this close to bedtime, you are going to have to keep it in mind with a team as young as these Brewers. But I think everyone will take a nap in the afternoon, get a lot of sleep the night before, have a light pre-game meal and we’ll be ready to go. I can’t say enough about our coaching staff this year and I’m sure we’ll keep improving every week of this season. Coach Goldstein said, “Its always great to play like this under the lights and I really liked how our catchers were staying low and catching a bunch of those balls.”
Some tickets remain for the early-season match up on Saturday of the Brewers vs the Yankees.