Opening Day is still a little more than a week away, so a pair of high-school games Saturday afternoon were played on 1st Avenue in Seattle: West Seattle-Sedro Woolley and Mount Si-Kentwood.
With the retractable roof open at Safeco Field to let the bright sunlight wash over the diamond, two baseball teams went head-to-head. It wasn’t a major league game, though.
Opening day is still a little more than a week away, so a pair of high-school games Saturday afternoon were played on First Avenue in Seattle: West Seattle vs. Sedro-Woolley and Mount Si vs. Kentwood. It is the second of four doubleheaders to be played at Safeco this year, and the ninth consecutive season the Mariners have hosted high-school teams.
It gives a taste of the big-league life to a group of teenagers used to playing on fields much less pristine.
“Once you throw a few pitches, you’re like, all right, it’s just like pitching any other game,” West Seattle sophomore pitcher Carson Wright said after the Wildcats’ 6-1 win over Sedro-Woolley.
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West Seattle players admitted it was a little nerve-wracking at first to step onto the field. To jog up the same dugout steps that Felix Hernandez jogs up in front of thousands of screaming fans, well, that’s an odd feeling. Of course, there were only a couple hundred fans on hand Saturday, but the vast expanse of seats staring down at them is quite the perspective.
Add in the fact that most are big Mariners fans, and it’s an unforgettable experience.
“This is just like a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” West Seattle’s Andrew Burggraff said. “It’s an honor to play here.”