The West Seattle Wildcat and Highline Pirates played a game of high school baseball on Saturday, April 30 at 4 p.m. – standard procedure for this time of year.

What made the game unique was the venue as the teams and their families were allowed free admission and use of Safeco field in exchange for selling 10,000 Mariners tickets, according to a Safeco employee.

The atmosphere
The crowds were about evenly split at 60 each, West Seattle fans gathering along the first base line and Highline along the third, giving everyone the chance at seats generally reserved for those unaffected by the economic downturn.

Not only were the boys given the opportunity to stand on the same mound as Felix Hernandez and cover the same impeccably manicured outfield as Ichiro, but they were given the big league treatment with camera coverage of the game broadcast to the jumbotron screen and live commentating. Each batter’s name was broadcast over the PA system as they came in for some swings followed by “lets-get-fired-up” music thumping as they took to the plate.

The crowd experience was special as well with a much greater probability of making it on camera for improvisational cheering and occasionally awkward, seat-bound dance moves.

The biggest winner of the day may have been the 12 and under crowd of younger brothers and sisters who spent half the game chasing after foul balls that made it into the seats. Although seating was confined to the areas described earlier, Safeco’s staff allowed the kids free reign to go after the balls. The only trick was getting past the Mariners’ branded caution tape that created a border between off and on-limit seating. One little guy managed to clothesline himself on the tape (he was fine) the first time he went after a foul to right, but he redeemed himself with graceful hurdles of his foe from then on out.

The game
The Wildcats pulled off a 6-4 victory in the seven inning game.

Highline came out strong early, racking up two runs to none in the first two innings.

West Seattle heated up in the third, getting four runs and taking over the lead at 4-2. They kept the pressure on, racking up two more in the fourth and fifth.

West Seattle’s Freeman had the honor of hitting a Safeco homer in the fifth, soloing a line drive to left field that easily cleared the wall marked at 331 feet..

Highline put together a solid rally in the seventh and final inning, getting two runs back, but fell a bit short.

Final score aside, it seemed that everyone felt like a winner after playing on the same field as their idols.

In fact, these baseball players were idols for the day: As the game ended a pro-Wildcat 10-year-old clutching a recovered foul ball begged his dad to take him to the dugout so he could get it signed.