Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / April 17, 2009, edition 1 / Page 12
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12 \VVVVV.GU11.K)1U)IAN.C()M Fan excitement sparks Grasshnpper cemeback By Pete Kostin Staff Writer li was the top ol'the sc\oiith and the (ireenshoro Ciiasshoppcrs trailed 5-2 against the l)ri\e I'rom (ireen\ ille- (iood ‘('le single-.\ baseball. Outlielder Kevin \lattison was up lo bat. but the lel'tx kept pulling foul balls into riglit field. "Dude quii shankin' them balls man!" eomplained the fan behind me wearing eut-olf sleeved tie-dve. Next pitch - C'R.XCK- he slugged it. I he noise level approached sonic- boom. outllelders scrambled. "Awh s—. oh no." said the tie- dve Ian. who seemed to foresee the pickle. Mattison rounded lirst. but glanced at the throw li('m the outfield (some thing a runner should never do). He Ignored the llrst-base eoach. Ilalfwav tt> second lie tiirned around. I an volume nuctuated. I hev soundeef like cross-town iral'llc mixed with whining didgeridvHvs. ■■ \.\.\llllo(vohhh..." - thev wove ^uspense and caml'iision inti' one breath. Mattison was trapped between first and second base, pivoting. 1 suing, inking the approaching llelder. In des peration. Mattison in the middledove nearlv 15 feet eaiiv iVoin the soi-oiui base bag. 1 he (.uveiivdie Drive pitch er t.igged him solilv, -l )i I-. But the pickle was sweet. It marked the beginning of the i iiasshoppers' seventh-inning comeback. 1 was silting in the I'roni row ot'the \ewBridge Bank Park, downtown t iiv.>. a'«boro. ■-pilling itoll.n Buckshot all over mv shoiTs. Mattison was brush- thev 're here foi ing the dirt otf his jersev while the Jum- Grasshopper fai botron read 5-.2, .Ioanna McDylai The panorama on opening night was experience of th a mass of 9..522 fans - the highest atten- familv oriented t danee in New Bridge's short four-year -Thwack- i historv. Its seating eapacitv is only McDMan was i 7.499. and manv of the nearlv tw o thou- hit the Grasshop: sand extra fans poured over onto the inning. Grassho lawn behind the iniilleld. run to cut the lea The inexpensive Sb-dollar lawn tick- M_\ attention ets put >ou behind the outlleld in front shouting his twi of a beer tent, which was selling Nattv at lirst. Greene's Guilford Buckshots: the dollar "lake a k beverage of the night looked like old screamed Iroin tl engine oil. I squeezed 1 Opening night was also cleverly random mascots "fhirstv T'hursdav." which ma> have C'enturion. and accounted for a huge number of college shampoo, tor a students in attendance, including some somewhat imp of Guillbrd's ow n. coach. It turns o "Honestly this is the lirst time I've Scottsdale. .\riz. been able to drink at a game, and it has "1 consider n made it a lot better." said junior .lason Terrv Schween, Straus. man aceompanv Students clotted the 15-min- of ute-long beer lines, miss- /) ing huge portions of the game. It seemed ^ like most fans were iIk'iv for the beer, not the baseball. "1 think thev're here for both,” said longtime Grasshopper fan and mother of two .Ioanna McD> Ian. "It's just part of the experience of the ball game. It's prettv- familv oriented at the same time too." -Thwack- my interview with McDMan was interrupted. Paul Gran hit the Grasshopper's second RBI ofthe inning. Grasshoppers notched another run to cut the lead to 5-4. M_v attention swung to a fervent i'an shouting his two cents to Gran, stuck at lirst. "fake a lead, blockhead!" he screamed from the deck. I squeezed between fans and the random mascots: Droopy Dog, a Roman C'enturion. and a four-foot bottle of shampoo, for an interview with this somewhat unprofessional first-base coach. It turns out he was visiting from Scottsdale. .\riz. "1 consider mvself a big fan," said Terrv Schween. the insurance sales man aceompanv ing six half-emptv cups of Buckshot. "Baseball seems alive and well in Greensboro." ^ S c h w c e n seemed lo appre ciate three things: baseball, beer. :tnd chat. "Durinu all this economic s—. people need . a release - and people love baseball." he commented. Considering the soaring amounts of alcohol, the behavior ^ was awesome; people were warm and open with fellow park-goers. Only a couple of minor insianceiT ... * had the mark of college males waft--^ « ing above it. "He (a random guy) was laughin' out loud with his pants all the wa> down...just peeiif all over Uae place." Straus mentioned about his visit to the men's room. t Minutes later, the Greensboro ^ right-hander .lason Synaii cracked another RBI to tie the game at 5-5, send- ’ , '■* ing it into extra innings^ / ^ "I got^i fsv(?r, anJ’the i^ily ' / preseript,ion\ is* mor'5 -WOOP- 'y \\’0( )P,'j yi^lled the aiTiKuincer. / "W0()P-\VO()P!" responded the crowd. ■\\'oop-woop' had a consistentlv enthu siastic fan reaction five times per inning. Mavbe 12 woop-woops later it was the bottom ofthe lOth and Ben Lasater fired a jarring 350-foot walk-oil'home run past the beer, tents. The crowd remained standing in ova tion long after the ball had dropped. 1 was running to mv friend's ear thinking "traf- lic." but reallv, there was ik> need to hurrv. ^ I'rom the parking lot. 1 barcTv Ifc caught lirevvorks. which threw * much needed watercolor on the faces of fans. > The night was not something that would make it to fSPN. but it was dell- nitel> a great stitch in th«. huge beer-soaked .American Ian blanket. 4 M r i , ‘ ' ’ .V *S: Softball commemorates seniors and pursues ODAC tournament By Abbey Dean Staff Writer At the transition of each inning, a conglomeration of Flo Rida, Lady Gaga, and Lil Wayne blasted as one team scurried off to bat and the other to field. No one ever walked, or even jogged, but always sprint ed, even if to get a foul ball that an excited fan had fetched. The high energy radiating from the Guilford softbdl team was fur thered by the cacophony of clapping and the consistent pops, cracks, and thuds of the softball to a player's bat or glove. To add to the energy surround ing the duo of games, both were commemorated by "Senior Day." Arrays of neon green and pink posters and banners were sprin kled along the outskirts of the field, proudly displaying the names of the four seniors: Kelly Hale, Amber Stapler, Kelly Guamieri, and Taryn Pulvermuller. Needless to say, there was never a dull or a quiet moment amidst the clamor of the crowd and the catchy cheers emanating from each Senior Kelly Hale watches first-year Julie Langseth's at-bat from the on- deck circle. Langseth had an RBI in the first game, and Hale went 3-6 on the day. dugout. This Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) doubleheader was a match between two com petitive teams. Currently sixth in the ODAC, the Virginia Wesleyan Marlins' defense this year had earned them an ERA of 2.35, which made the Quakers work for each run. Virginia Wesleyan's pitcher Brittany Brown, who pitched both games, has played a decisive role in fire team's defense record. Senior Kelly Hale commented on how crucial this double-header was for the Quakers, presently ranked third in the ODAC. "We only have a few games left, so we need to hold our defense and keep swinging to get to the level we want in the conference," said first baseman Hale. In this regard. Senior Taryn Pulvermuller did not disap point. Pulvermuller pitched the entirety of the first game and only allowed one run on two hits, strik ing out four Marlins. Sophomore Ami Hutchinson didn't let Pulvermuller's effort go to waste and ran safely home off of first-year Julie Langseth's bunt to propel the Quakers ahead with a 2-1 score. In the next four innings the Quakers owned the field. The Marlins consistently hit the ball well but were unable to score due to the Quaker's concise throws and tight defense. With right fielder Morgan Freyer's two lurching fly ball catches at the top of the sixth, the Quakers went on to outmaneu- ver the Marlins and win the game 2-1. To start the second game, the Quakers scored two runs in the first inning to take an early lead. Pitcher Jessica Burcham held the , Marlins at a hblt in th^ ‘first five innings and ended the game with 11 total strikeouts. Despite their strong defense, the Quakers lost their lead in the sev enth inning when the Marlins bat ted in two runs, making the final score 3-2. With a win and a loss, the Quakers remain third in the ODAC with a 9-5 record. "I've basically been crying off and on all day," said Pulvermuller. "The team is so tight and confi dent this year, and I think that really came through in the first game." Pulvermuller and her senior teammates have made their marks in Guilford softball throughout the past four years. Hale has the highest on-base and fielding percentage in Guilford his tory, while Stapler has acquired the most at bats for 2008 and the most career runs scored. Moreover, Guamieri has the sec ond highest base percentage, and pitcher Pulvermuller has the second most wins in Quaker history. "It is bittersweet,'/ said Hale. '^This isn't the end though; we still have more games and a tournament to look forward to. I have full faith that this team can and will go far."
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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April 17, 2009, edition 1
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