Even as late as June 23rd, the weather in the Midwest can be troublesome. Case in point, the Beloit Sky Carp and Lansing Lugnuts were forced to postpone and reschedule a couple games this week.

When I purchased by ticket for Sunday’s first game of the doubleheader in Beloit I was unaware of earlier (12:05) start. Delivery of digital tickets for their games has never been Beloit’s strong point.

Since the MWL ousted Kane County and Clinton after the 2019 season, Beloit’s the closest MWL city to Casa Bob. The drive up 90W is pretty direct and smooth. However, the grey skies and light drizzle (not in the forecast) didn’t bode well.

Over the years I’ve probably attended fifty games in Beloit, first at Pohlman Field and now at ABC Supply Stadium located in the heart of downtown Beloit. I did find a new breakfast spot within 3 minutes of the ballpark. And one can pay $5 for parking on campus, there is plenty free parking within minutes of the park.

Due to Saturday night’s postponement and the 6-game series, Sunday’s starting pitchers changed a few times, and I wasn’t able to research the guys-which was fine. The match-up was a definite upgrade and featured each franchise’s top pitching prospect.

Luis Morales took the bump for the Lugnuts, and lefty Thomas White toed the rubber for Beloit. The 21-year-old Morales is the #2 ranked prospect in the Athletics system. White, 19-years-old was the 35th overall pick of the 2023 draft and the Marlins #3 prospect.

For their part, the other ranked prospects on both rosters didn’t do anything of note and I won’t reference them in the report.

Due to the early start, there was nothing going on before first pitch. However, it was Gem Day and every adult received a mysterious envelope with a chance to win valuable prizes as the sponsoring jeweler ergo the clever title of this post.

Having attended several games at ABC, I expected some sort of free scorecard and program. The kind folks at Guest Services had plenty of flimsy score sheets, and programs similar to Game Day, but no rosters for the visitors, nor pocket schedules.

My general admission digital ticket down the third base line afforded me a seat anywhere I wanted. One can’t distinguish the GA seating from the box seats as the bowl extends from the foul lines. Like every MWL park, there are several different party areas and suites-most were closed yesterday. One of the nicest aspects of this new park is that fans can circumnavigate the park and get a great view from the outfield.

Yesterday was a perfect example of how the MWL has changed in the past 10 years or so. I used to be able to chat with pitching coaches (informally) and figure out what was the day’s plan for the starting pitcher and maybe the order of pitchers coming out of the pen. In the past, they would have explained that both starters were on a short leash.

Beloit struck first with a lone run in the bottom of the second and the Lugnuts responded with a three spot in the top of the third. They strung together 4 hits and a walk and hit batter. After surviving that outburst, White set Lansing down 1-2-3 in the 4th via a nifty, 4-6-3 double play-one that earned the adults a discounted mango margarita. Mmmmm.

In explicably, Morales was pulled after 3 innings, 3 hits, 7 strikeouts and only 2 walks and a 3- lead. That decision cost the Lugnuts.

The Sky Carp cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth and took the lead after sending 8 batters to the plate in the fifth. Lansing reliever, Yehizon Sanchez got knocked around pretty soundly in his two innings of work, allowing 6 hits, a walk, a hit batter and 4 earned runs.

White was pulled after retiring the first two batters with little effort in the top of the 5th. In 4.2 innings, he struck out 7, walked 2 and surrendered 3 earned runs on five hits. Reliever, Ignacio Feliz got the final batter to pop out feebly to second to end the inning and record the win (3-0) eventually.

Both teams tacked on a run in the 6th inning, but squandered opportunities for more runs. Xavier Meachem shut down Lansing, 1-2-3 in the seventh to secure the 6-4 victory.

I still don’t know if I’ve scored a watch valued at $300 or not. And ordinarily the shot at getting two games for the price of one, I got on the road to make a previous engagement. As I’ve said many times, it’s best to take the games as they come and not to head to the park with low or high expectations. The initial forecast was gloomy at best, but it turned out to be a wonderful day at the park.

Game One Beloit 6-Lansing 4 supposedly 1350 in attendance.