Photo Credit: Bradley Walker NGSC Sports
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Under a partly cloudy, cool night, the Clearwater Threshers, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Single-A team, had their home opener. It was a special night as the team had one-dollar hot dogs, soda, and beer. The 4,000 fans enjoyed it, and in some cases, many of them left before all the excitement happened. This game was a tale of two games in one. The Threshers were hosting the Daytona Tortugas, who are the single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Both teams came into the game with a 2-1 record. Clearwater was in their home red tops with stripe pants, and red caps like the ones that the Phillies wear. Daytona was in all grey uniforms with green hats. For anyone who has ever attended a minor league baseball game, you are missing out on so much fun.
The game started off rough for the Clearwater Threshers. They had issues starting in the second inning with many walks that resulted in a 5-0 lead for Daytona. The other issue was that the Threshers could not get a hit. The next thing you know, in just three short innings, Clearwater found themselves down 7-0. No matter what happened, if the Threshers got walks, they were unable to get hits. This is when most of the fans, except for the diehards, left. Many could see why their team was losing, and at that time, there was no feeling of a comeback. This is one of the reasons why you do not leave until the final out.
The magic started in the bottom of the eighth when the Threshers finally got on the board, and before the inning ended, they found themselves down 7-3. Once the first run was scored, the fans who were left cheered because they knew their team was not going to get shut out. The bright spot was that Clearwater’s pitchers were finally able to find the strike zone and kept the Tortugas off the scoreboard in the final four innings. Clearwater quickly got two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and it looked like Daytona was going to spoil the home opener. The Threshers got walked and that loaded the bases with the tying run coming up to the plate in Aroon Escobar. Escobar was the hero as on a 2-1 count he rocked a ball to deep left field, and it cleared the fence, which tied the game at seven. Escobar ended the game 2 for 4 with five RBI and one walk.
After Escobar, Brady Day came up to bat and hit a double to get into scoring position. The following hitter was the DH in Joel Dragoo, and all he needed to do was get a base hit. He did just that as he lined a base hit to right, and Day came around to score the winning run. The players went crazy and dumped ice on Dragoo. The fans in the stands also went crazy as their team came from behind to win on opening night. These are the types of games that test a team, and with this coming early in the season, it shows this team has character and does not give up. This was game one of a six-game series, so let’s see how the next five games go.
Are you excited when your team comes back like the Threshers did last night? Leave a comment below.
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Author Profile
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Bradley Walker serves as the Director of Operations for NGSC Sports, bringing extensive experience across collegiate, professional, and amateur athletics. His coverage spans USF Athletics, including football, baseball, lacrosse, and softball, as well as University of Tampa baseball.
Bradley also provides coverage of minor league baseball with the Clearwater Threshers and Major League Baseball with the Tampa Bay Rays. On the national stage, he covers college football bowl games and conference championship matchups, along with premier golf events across the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and LPGA Tour.
In addition to his reporting work, Bradley is the play-by-play announcer for Pinellas Park High School Patriots football, lending his voice and insight to Friday night lights.
He is also an active podcast host and contributor, serving as a co-host on the P&W Sports Report and hosting The Walker Report, where he delivers in-depth sports analysis, interviews, and coverage across multiple levels of competition.
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[…] Clearwater Threshers wrapped up a three-game series versus the Bradenton Marauders, the A-affiliate for the Pittsburgh […]