The start of something new

Chillicothe Paints 13, Richmond Riverrats 2

Overall, I couldn't really come up with a catchy name to the title of this article, but this one will do. The night of June 4, 2009 marked the beginning of something new for baseball fans in Chillicothe, but if you really think about it, the only things that are new are the things that's on paper. It felt great to return to the friendly FieldTurf confines of V.A. Memorial Stadium. Truth be told, I always feel like I miss that place one way or the other during the offseason. The V.A. has done such a good service for amateur baseball before the arrival of the Prospect League, and there's no doubt in my mind that the V.A. will serve the Prospect League well, too.

A good crowd was on hand to see the newest edition of the Chillicothe Paints take the field, the team that will come to play for the 2009 season. The roster is filled with kids who are looking to move up in the baseball world, and they still have college elligibility. The Prospect League will feature the best collegiate athletes there are in the country. This is a college wooden bat league, but this is still the same fun and entertaining game of baseball that we're talking about. The place was energetic for this game. A great deal of enthusiasm was built for this night. You could tell the Chillicothe faithful were into this first game of the Prospect League season.

What about the game? Surely, the game was fun to watch. This was a very solid way for the new Paints to make their debut. Everything seemed to click in this one. The guys were focused in their approach to hit the ball, and likewise, the pitching was pretty superb. Clayton Schultz, out of North Florida University, pitched a good game. He went five innings deep for his first start of the season as a Paint, and he ended up only surrendering three hits, and he hit three batters. He didn't give up a run and struck out three batters.

Here's a funny thing that I want to point out, just to get out of the way. For me, I was born in 1989. Clayton Schulz was born in 1990, so that means that I am almost a year older than Schulz. Keep in mind that he has the makings of a potential stud way down the road. His stuff for this game was really effective, and it showed when he pitched against the Riverrats' lineup. He had a good gameplan, and he executed it well. Being out there on the mound for the first time of the year will always get starting pitchers pumped in some way. That's the joy of the dawn of a new year. New beginnings. Clean slates. Different twists to your own personal stories.

For the offense, the bats went to work almost right away. The runs came across the plate, and there were more than plenty to win this debut game. Tim Krofcheck batted leadoff and had three base hits and an RBI. Ben Allen had two hits and an RBI. Kyle Galbriath had two hits. Andrew Marshall had three hits, and one of them was a double. He had three RBI's to go along with those hits. Andy Brouse had a hit and an RBI. Matt Abro had a single, a double, and an RBI. Eian Banks had a hit and an RBI. Steven Mirizzi had three hits and two RBI's.

The whole setting just felt pretty laid back for this game. This was the start of something new, but only on the surface. Only on paper can you really say that. To be honest, I really didn't feel much difference between this style and the style that the Frontier League plays. If anything, one fan and friend of mine puts it into great perspective. The Prospect League is just like the Frontier League when it started out, in its first five years, so if you think about it some more, this isn't really new territory for the Paints organization. I still had the fun that came along with every game in the past few seasons. It was still there, as I enjoyed myself a great deal. Besides, that's all baseball fans really need. They just need to have fun, right?

The last highlight I want to mention is the fact that the car I rode in to the ballpark got creamed by a foul ball at some point. The windshield was smashed and it featured numerous cracks. It got hit pretty good, but I guess that's the risk you take when you just happen to park very close to the ballpark. Ah, the good old feelings of going to the old ballgame are coming back again!