Kevin Clifford/Nevada Appeal
Nevada Appeal Sports Writer Darrell Moody said this about going to the ballpark in downtown Reno for tonight's Aces game:
The sight as I walked from the parking garage at the bowling center was
amazing. The gates weren't going to be open for another 30 minutes, yet
several thousand fans were patiently waiting to get in. The fans were being
entertained by a local band.
The pre-game ceremony seem to be a bit rushed. The gentleman in the press
box producing the ceremony was constantly trying to hurry things along so
the game could start at 6:18. Alas it was two minutes late getting going.
It's an enthusiastic crowd thus far. I hope it's not just because it's
Opening Night. I'd love to see this kind of enthusiasm all year.
The crowd goes nuts on every Aces' play. They appreciate the 10-pitch at-bat
by Josh Whitesell, who drew a walk and later scored in the three-run first.
The cheer is even louder for Trent Oeltjen's bloop single to left that
scored two runs.
The game is going slow, though. We're almost 2 hours in and it's only the
fourth inning. I'm sure the fans don't mind the pace because the A's are
comfortably ahead 8-1
9 p.m. update:
Esmerling Vasquez is on the hill for the Aces, and he just got his bacon
saved by right fielder Trent Oeltgen, who went deep into right-center field
to flag down a ball hit by Luis Figueroa that saved a double or triple.
There hasn't been any scoring for a couple of innings, and the crowd seems
to have relaxed a bit. The fans have tried to start a wave twice in the last
inning to no avail.
8:30: It's 8:33 and we're in the bottom of the fifth. The game was held up for
maybe a minute as a young man entered the field from the area in right field
and jogged across the field shirtless. What some people will do to get a
little attention.
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The Aces evened their record at 4-4 with a 11-1 win over Salt Lake City in
their home opener.