swampdogs barking at grayson!

I had been watching weather reports since yesterday, hoping for the best.
Tonight's game had been one I'd traded to get.
I like to see every team the Bananas play and this was to be my sole opportunity to see the Fayetteville Swampdogs in action.
But would the weather hold?
It did not.

That's not to say the trip out to Grayson Stadium
had been a wasted effort.
Not hardly!
This was Bark In The Park night!
That meant folks were able to trot their dogs -
and miniature ponies - around the bases.
How absolutely appropriate for this game with
the Swampdogs, right?

It made me wonder which came first, the CPL game schedule or the Bananas promotion schedule?
Things that make you go...hmmm!
The jerseys the North Carolina team wore also made
me muse and ponder.
With their white stars on a field of deep blue, as
part of the patriotic design, they would have been perfect for the Catawba Valley Stars last night!

I don't believe Mister Willie cared one way of the other about the uniforms.
He was just glad I'd gotten some ibuprofen for my back, as I had been miserable from it yesterday.
(Tree trimming had aggravated a 31-year-old injury.)
Here he is, getting attention from the crowd, with the Man in the Yellow Tux back in action!

Bruce was there tonight, along with the rest of the
Dad-Bod Cheerleading Squad - and he really liked
the photo I took of them!
Steve was thrilled that I had brought back a camo cap that he had given me last year, for military night.
He'd already given one to a grandchild and needed one more - ta DAH!
(smile)

I was thrilled that the flag bearers were from the
Naval ROTC at Jenkins High School!
That's my alma mater, y'all!
When I attended, I don't even recall an ROTC unit,
much less one that was a contingent of the USN!
They looked mighty sharp out there tonight, too.
Go, Warriors!

As for the game, I had hoped for a pitcher's duel, to speed things along.
Jordan Merritt certainly gave it a shot, striking out
three Swampdogs in the first and another three in the
second innings.
But that second inning, the Bananas' bats were hitting!
The first three each got singles!
With the aid of a wild pitch for "free bases", Tanner Thomas came in for the first run!

Nice first RBI, Dan Oberst!
Then, with Austin on third and Dan on first, Bryan Encarnacion was struck by the pitcher, making the
bases filled with Bananas!
Gabe Howell popped out, but Mike Williams smacked a single, bringing Austin in for run two!
Woohoo! Nice inning... but a bit slow...
and look at that sky.

Thirty minutes later, the Swampdogs had scored two runs to tie the game, the first two Bananas had popped out, and the storm clouds were speeding up their coverage of the sky.
Tanner and Austin T had both been walked when Dan came to bat.
Boom! His double brought Tanner in for the tie-breaker!
That left Austin on third and Dan on second.

Next up was Bryan, of course, following the same batting order which was so successful in the second inning.
His bat drove a long single, allowing both runners to make it home!
Now the Bananas had five runs to the Swampdogs' two.
But look at that sky... just three minutes after the previous photo.
One more out and the inning was done.


The tarp was immediately pulled out to cover the field.
I grabbed Willie and we left, making it almost to the car before the rain came.
We'd been gifted with three innings of good baseball, but those three innings had taken one hour and twenty-seven minutes.
Considering that three innings normally takes about an hour, this game had taken longer than average, but it certainly had not dragged...
and I'd had my chance to watch the Swampdogs play.
i thank You, God.