A Sunny Sunday at the Ballpark is Hard to Beat

Summer seemed to settle in over the weekend. Sunday was a perfect day to be outside. I don't golf or fish much, and did not want to spend a beautiful day mowing my lawn. So I found a local baseball game with a personal connection. One of the Lonsdale players went to high school with my son. It was my first trip to Trenda Memorial Field in Lonsdale. The Aces were hosting St. Patrick in a Dakota-Rice-Scott game.

I enjoyed taking in the on and off field attractions. Amateur baseball is played with wood bats. The sound of bat on ball is music to my ears. A swarm of young kids played in the batting cage and dashed after a myriad of foul balls. The field features a hill down the left field line where many tossed down a blanket to soak up some sun.

I got a chuckle when the public address system featured "In Heaven There is no Beer," between innings. They also spun "Glory Days" and some organ music. The home catcher had nearly as much gray in his hair as I do. When players removed their hats for the National Anthem, I had to put my sunglasses back on due to the glare off a few of their domes.

I always look for something at a game that I've never seen before. Sunday it had to be the foul ball that one-hopped into the concession stand behind the first base dugout. The Lonsdale field also features a nice patio where fans bring their lawn chairs.

The game was a bit ragged with St. Patrick topping the home nine 16-7 in a game that saw 31 hits and seven errors. But without video review and TV breaks it was done in less than two-and-a-half hours.

Locally, we can look forward to games many nights at Fuller Field at Dartt's Park, where the hot dogs are much better than what I ate in Lonsdale.

High school ball continues in the section finals this week. New Prague and Lakeville North duel for the Section 1AAAA title Tuesday at 5 pm at Dundas, home of the marvelous Memorial Field. North needs to win twice to prevent the Trojans from advancing to state for the first time since 1980. Watch for baseball and softball tournament scores on the scoreboard feature on our app.