I sure am glad spring is here. The rain showers are increasingly showing up, but so are flip-flops, ice-cream trucks and sundresses. Before the humidity of summer reaches us, this is a wonderful time to enjoy the offerings of the local parks, bike trails, and especially the warm weather sporting events.
The opening weekend for the Lookouts was April 7-11 against the Tennessee Smokies. While Engle Stadium’s fate is
sadly up in the air at the mo-ment, the fans packing the stands to support the Lookouts at their new home atop the hill at AT&T Field was a welcome homage to our country’s love of baseball.
I’ve never been much of a sports spectator, especially from the living room armchair, but attending a baseball game is almost a guarantee of a good time in my book. Unlike other sports, where you’re not sure why the play they just ran was important or why that foul was called, baseball is simple. It’s three strikes, and you’re out.
Even with the forecast predicting tornado warnings and heavy rainfall for the April 11 Monday night game against the Smokies, I made the walk to AT&T Field, up the escalator and got prime seats right beside the Lookouts dugout. It’s hard to imagine a better source of three hours of entertainment for only $8 than a Lookouts game. I’ve paid more than that for simply parking before!
There’s more to a game at the Lookouts than marveling at the skill of the players as they dive for the bases and crack the ball over the back wall, though. Part of it is the food. Baseball food is comfort food. Ballpark hotdogs and hamburgers always seem to taste a little bit better than anyone else’s, and adding peanuts, crackerjacks, popcorn, or a Slush Puppie to the meal makes for a great time to forget that summer bikini diet.
Lookouts games are also much like a circus show. There are games where the fans are called down to the field to participate in for prizes. There’s a lottery type chance that your 25-cent program might be stamped with the winning seal for food from delicious local restaurants like Lupi’s, the Blue Plate and Rita’s.
There are dancing, singing and photo opportunities with the mascots “Blueie” and “Louie.” And everyone knows when the musical rally plays, they are expected to yell “Charge!” at
its conclusion.
Moreover, the people you sit with at the stadium are part of the experience and the culture of “going to a baseball game.” At Monday night’s game, a shirtless man in a ten-gallon Lookouts hat danced through all the pre-game songs with his two young daughters. An older couple in front of me fussed at the referee when he called strikes on our players, and cheered on the player who stole a base.
And all this that a baseball game provides doesn’t even factor in the awesome game that’s happening on the field. The Lookouts had a good night. Although the Smokies cracked out two runs right off the bat, the Lookouts were able to hold them at it until they were able to score four runs in the third inning. Steve Clevenger stepped up to the plate in the fourth inning and delivered a no contest home run for the Smokies that I grudged as a Lookouts fan, but was impressed as a baseball fan. The Lookouts were able to hold their own though through the inning with scoring two more runs.
This was when Corey Smith of the Lookouts used his football like stature to make a dash to home plate, and through Smokies catcher Clevenger, who was leveled by the Lookout. The game certainly did have its moments of action!
As the sky began to darken and bright bolts of lightening lit up the horizon a few miles away, the fifth inning brought no scoring for either team, which continued with no runs scored for the Smokies during the first of the sixth inning.
Justin Miller was credited with the win by pitching a perfect fifth inning and Cole St. Clair earned his first save of the season by pitching a perfect sixth inning.
The Lookouts hit the road
after this game to play a five-
game series against the Birm-ingham Barons. They returned to AT&T Field April 18 to play the Huntsville Stars, and will be home for a long stretch April 28 through May 7 to play the Jackson Generals and the Mississippi Braves, respectfully.
Tickets for Lookouts home games can be purchased at the Lookouts Box Office at AT&T Field, online at www.lookouts.com, or by calling (423) 267-4849. For the food, the fans, the game, or all of the above, it’s springtime: take yourself out to the ballgame.
Email Erica Tuggle at reporter@hamiltoncountyherald.com.