ValleyCats host Education Day

PHOTOGRAPHER: Marc Schultz

The TriÂCity ValleyCats hosted the Albany Dutchmen Wednesday for 'Education Day' at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium. The ValleyCats use the game to demonstrate how S.T.E.M. and other academic subjects integrate with baseball, while also providing a platform

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For a day, the classroom was the ballpark.

Thousands of elementary school kids descended upon Joseph L. Bruno Stadium Wednesday for an exhibition game between the Tri-City ValleyCats and Albany Dutchmen. Dubbed “Education Day,” the day at the game is designed to be part field trip, part learning experience.

“We’re able to get the students out and be around other schools and they love being here,” said Ichabod Crane Elementary School assistant principal Tony Marturano. “With summer being so close, it’s good to get everyone out here and spend the day at an event like this.”

Whether it was reacting to a foul ball, answering the trivia questions displayed on the big screen, or interacting with Southpaw dealing out high fives, the kids kept the stadium loud throughout the entire day. The baseball-themed trivia questions tied in several school subjects like math, geography and science.

“The most important thing we learned today was how to strikeout bullying and be nice to others,” said Alondra Lopez, a sixth grader at Lincoln Elementary School in Schenectady.

“Being here with my classmates and the doing the activities is a lot of fun for us,” said Egan Flynn, a fifth grader at Woodlawn Elementary School, also in Schenectady.

Pop singer Kristina Lachaga, also known as “The Girl With the Big Pink Heart,” was on hand for a pregame show, engaging the audience to take the pledge to stop bullying and treat others with respect.

Even the giveaway was learning-themed. Upon entering the stadium, every student received safety glasses and learned tips for staying safe with technology. Some other displays were set up relating to perhaps the biggest theme of the day: how to combat bullying. The ValleyCats laid out a huge banner outlining a “peace pledge” for kids to sign. One table had various displays of science experiments where students could learn about how lava lamps were made and had the opportunity to create their own to bring home.

Between innings, several kids were selected to come on to the field along the first- and third-base lines to do games for prizes such as solving a jumbo puzzle, catching Frisbees in a pizza box and races on hopper balls.

For the team, hosting an event like and having so many kids in the crowd was a positive influence — especially for a game with an unusually early start time of 10 a.m.

“The kids were loud and really woke us up,” said first-year ValleyCats manager Lamarr Rogers, “I liked the situation and enthusiasm out there for them.”

The ValleyCats started Education Day in 2014 for the purpose of teaching kids how academics integrate with baseball, and to provide an anti-bullying and character development platform.

The ValleyCats of the New York-Penn League defeated the Albany Dutchmen, a team of college players in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, 5-4. Tri-City opens its regular season Friday at home in a 7 p.m. game against the Connecticut Tigers.