Suns kick off Pittsfield Public Schools summer reading program

Just this past Monday morning, Wahconah Park and the Pittsfield Suns opened their doors for a rare 10:30 am game.

Now you might think, “Why 10:30 a.m.? And who would want to go to a game at that hour?”

The Suns, partnering with the Pittsfield Public Schools, invited the entire school district to the game as the Suns hosted the Nashua Silver Knights.

The promotion was to get local students excited for their summer reading program, where kids can earn rewards for the books they have read.

Mary Yarmosky, an earth science teacher at Reid Middle School, could not have been more excited for the field trip.

“Any time you can have the kids learn outside the classroom – it’s a good thing,” Yarmosky said, “It’s America’s pastime – so coming to a baseball game is always a good thing.”

A few thousand school children filled the stands with parents and teachers in rooting for the Suns in their disappointing 3-0 loss to the Silver Knights.

Despite the clouds and the occasional showers, which shortened the game to a mere eight innings, the students still had a great time and were all seen dancing throughout the game and having the time of their lives during a not-so-ordinary Monday morning.

“It’s so fun – just the energy around is just so fun,” said 12 year-old Reid Middle School student Colby Sherman. “My parents usually take me to a couple of games each summer.”

After the game each student received a free ticket to an upcoming game, as the Reid Middle School students returned to school to prepare for finals in the next two weeks before leaving for Howe Caverns near Schenectady, N.Y.

On the field, the early game time may not have suited the Suns’ players as the Silver Knights scored an unearned run in the first inning off Suns starter Jon Luthe.

The score remained 1-0 until the sixth inning, when the Silver Knights added an RBI single and former Sun Jimmy Ricoy hit a towering home run over the Wahconah Park scoreboard in left, in the seventh, for the 3-0 final.

“I wish we could have gotten a few more hits today,” said Suns Manager Tom Conley, after his star player Ryan Dietrich finished the game with the team’s only two hits of the game.

“[The school kids] didn’t seem to care about that – it’s great having them along – it’s really special for them to come out and see us and it makes our guys feel like big leaguers and now they will sign autographs – so it’s great,” added Conley.

The Suns also announced another promotion this Father’s Day: any dad who enters the park with his kids will receive a free ticket.

Posted by Tim Davis on June 13, 2013. Filed under Education News,News,Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry