Hoards of kids and teenagers have been working on their home run cuts this week at the bite-sized re-creation of Rosenblatt Stadium, a hit at the College World Series’ Fan Fest. And they’ve learned a valuable lesson: Going yard with plastic bats and whiffle balls isn’t as easy as it looks.
Josh Langford and Aaron Galvan, 12-year-olds from Bellevue, swallowed bitter pills of reality as they wagered bragging rights on who could hit the most home runs at the miniature ’Blatt.
With 10 swings apiece, the boys, who play on the Bellevue Bruins Little League squad, combined to swat one measly homer.
“It’s a lot harder because the bat is so light,” Langford said. “In a real game, we’re used to pitches coming in at about 70 (mph) and heavier balls.”
Not to mention, in a real game, there aren’t dozens of squirrelly kids zipping around the outfield shagging balls.
“It’s our first year down here at the mini stadium,” said Kelly Schreiner, who has spent his afternoons feeding whiffle balls into a pitching machine that zips the polyurethane spheres toward the batter’s box. “Most of the kids come up, take their swings then head into the outfield and shag balls.”
The Fan Fest feature has been one of the most popular draws since CWS festivities kicked off on June 12.
“We wanted to try it out because it looked cool,” Galvan said. “I like how they re-created the real stadium.”
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