Mapping the path

CAROLINA BASEBALL: GAME 6

Greensboro Grasshoppers

We arrive at First National Bank Field in Greensboro to see the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. For the second consecutive game, the opponents are the Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees affiliate), who are battling the Hoppers for a playoff spot.

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After a day of sights in the Piedmont Triad, Dad and I made our way to the gate at First National Bank Field, passing first by a statue of the Greensboro mascot, Guilford, with two former bat dogs, Master Yogi Berra and Miss Babe Ruth.

The $21.5 million ballpark opened in 2005, and is built to the standards of Double-A baseball (should that opportunity arise), with a capacity of 7,499 and room for future expansion. There are 16 luxury suites, 26 grandstand boxes, and picnic areas.

Professional ball was played in Greensboro as early as 1902 and continued off and on through World War II – with teams appearing as the Farmers, Champs, Patriots, and Red Sox. In the Post-war period, they have been called the Patriots, Yankees, Patriots, Hornets, Bats, and, since 2005, Grasshoppers. The franchise has won four South Atlantic League titles, the last in 2011.

The team’s name comes from light cannons called “grasshoppers” used by British forces against American units and by American forces against each other in the Civil War. The small, three-pounder hopped like a grasshopper when it fired its shot.

Greensboro is currently the High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team has been affiliated with eight different Major League clubs in its history, including four stints with the Yankees and three with the Red Sox. They were with the Marlins from 2003-2018 before signing with the Pirates.

The Hoppers were a half-game behind their opponent, the Hudson Valley Renegades, the High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, and just one of the two teams would make the playoffs. This game would have more meaning than most.

Renegades players gathered around the bullpen to watch starting pitcher Josh Maciejewski warm up for the game. The 10th round pick in the 2018 draft had just returned from a four-game tryout with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, two levels above High-A Hudson Valley. In that cameo, Maciejewski gave up 13 earned runs in 18 innings, which is too many. He was making his second start back with the Renegades, where he had success on the year: a 9-4 record with a 4.10 ERA.

After a charming rendition of the National Anthem, our game was underway.

Hoppers starter Santiago Florez sailed through a 1-2-3 first inning while facing the current #1 (shortstop Anthony Volpe), #11 (outfielder Everson Pereira), and #4 (catcher Austin Wells) prospects in the Yankees organization.

Maciejewski gave up a leadoff double to shortstop Liover Peguero, the #6 prospect in the Pirates organization. He was driven in by the next batter, second baseman Nick Gonzales, the #1 prospect for the Pirates. The game didn’t just have playoff implications but also star power.

Time for some ballpark food!

Greensboro has a good variety of interesting ballpark-food options. Dad had the Catfish Hunter Carolina Dog (with chili, slaw, onions) and gave it an 11/10. I had the Connie Mac Attack (mac-n-cheese, pulled pork, bacon, BBQ sauce). I scored it 8/10. It was, well, a lot.

Greensboro added a run in the third and two more in the fourth, and led 4-0, thanks to a strong start from Florez. I walked out to see the lively crowd in left field, where fans and their companions were celebrating Bark in the Park night.

The next several minutes were overwhelming. There had to be 75 dogs or more there, all fired up to be out at night, seeing so many other dogs. And they were all very, very good dogs. But they were whizzing by me, this way and that in all directions, amidst the biggest crowd I had been in since COVID-19 began.

Suddenly, a baseball passed overhead. In the top of the fifth, Renegades right fielder Jake Sanford had hit a two-run shot into the crowd. Two batters later, second baseman Eduardo Torrealba, homered towards the same spot. The next batter, Volpe, hit a liner over the wall in left. And following that, Pereira hit an absolute bomb to left, rocketing comfortably out of the ballpark. Florez gave up four home runs in five batters, and Hudson Valley took the lead, 5-4. So many balls flying about — the dogs must have loved it.

Greensboro fought back for another run, tying it 5-5 after five.

The bullpens did their jobs for the next three, tense innings, holding both teams scoreless without much of a threat.

In the top of the ninth, a huge win on the line for the playoff hopes of both teams, left fielder Pat DeMarco and Torrealba went back-to-back for Hudson Valley. The Renegades dugout erupted both times, but louder, more emphatically, on the second. It felt like an exclamation point to a muscle-bound, six-home-run comeback. They led 7-5 going to the bottom of the ninth.

The light mist that had started a couple of innings earlier now fell heavier, making the proceedings feel more urgent and tense. After a groundout, a two-strike walk, and a strikeout, reliever Derek Craft went 0-2 against Grasshoppers center fielder Jonah Davis. Davis swung at the next pitch and missed, but the ball trickled past Wells, and Davis made it safely to first on the passed ball. New life.

Nick Gonzales came to the plate. The Pirates #4 prospect at the time and currently #1 on the list, Gonzales had already collected two hits on the evening. He took a called strike. And then he crushed Davis’ next offering well over the wall in left-center field, winning the game for the home team with a grand slam and sending Greensboro players hopping onto the field with joy. They mobbed Gonzales at the plate, tearing his jersey off, and celebrated in the strengthening rain.

I captured the whole thing in the video below!

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