Take Me Out To The Ball Game!

A random drawing at a local employer left us with tickets to "batter up!" with the new Hillsboro Hops Class A Short Season team at their new ball field. The setting for this spectacular field, reputed to be the best of its kind in the nation, is back-to-back with the Hillsboro Stadium, a soccer and football facility just off Highway 26 at exit 61. The field, looking absolutely perfect, is entirely artificial including the "dirt" around the playing field.

Under a bright summer afternoon sky, the seats filled up quickly, fans waving styrofoam hands and sporting various team paraphernalia. Seats on the main deck provided a full view of the field plus all the activities in the stands. The getcha-cotton candy-lemonade-peanuts-popcorn hawkers were in full voice, eyes scanning the crowd for raised hands and $5 bills. Their banter with patrons was hilarious as they kept enthusiasm revved in between pitches. Crowd control staff, glowing in their neon green shirts, kept a watchful eye out for running kiddos, fly balls (heads up!!!) and high fived anyone who caught a fly ball. The local paramedics were on hand with ice bags for the stinging palms of anyone trying to catch a ball without a mitt.


In the fight against patron boredom during the slower innings, there was the Bunny Run with little kids chasing a rabbit-headed mascot across the field, the tee shirt toss, the tire roll contest, the eat-the-cookie-on-your-nose contest as well as the seventh inning stretch and multiple attempts at The Wave. The game provided exciting moments of double plays, outfield catches and an over the fence home run as well as lots of fly balls right over the crowd, one even smashing the relish container at the  hot dog stand behind us!

As the sun faded towards sunset, the wind picked up and anyone without a jacket hunkered down for the final four innings. The sky turned golden in the west and pink and purple in the east, the silhouetted  "flying" roof of the stadium taking on the aura of a ship at sea. Fresh air, happy cheers and lively chatter were the reward for this close to home outing. Nature is all around us, just waiting to be enjoyed by your attendance. Grab some tickets and come on out to the ball game!