Game day at the K

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Kauffman Stadium is home to the two-time World Series champion Kansas City Royals, but April 17, it was the home of the Blue Valley baseball team. Beginning in 2015, the team has had the opportunity to play BV West in a routine league game at the stadium.

“It’s an electric atmosphere,” senior Benjamin DeZube said. “More people show up, and obviously we’re at Kauffman Stadium, so it’s kind of intimidating but really cool at the same time.”

Junior Walker Kinney played in the games the last two years, and as a Royals fan, he said his favorite part is getting to be on the same field as the team he loves.

“I love being in the batter’s box and knowing what great players have hit in this batter’s box, too,” Kinney said. “There’s nothing like looking out into the Royals field and the big crowd and the big scoreboard.”

Both players said they see a contrast in the field versus their usual playing locations.

“Obviously it’s a lot nicer, which makes a huge difference,” Kinney said. “There [are] professionals actually maintaining it every day, even in the off-season.”

The change in venue makes the tradition unique but also provides different challenges for the players.

“We have to realize it’s a normal game and not something more,” Kinney said. “The stands make it harder to read [fly] balls, but we can’t get caught up in the fact that it’s Kauffman Stadium.”

In the game at the K in 2017, BV lost to West 2-1, but DeZube said the defeat pushed the team to get focused.

“The loss was early on, the second game of the year,” DeZube said. “It sparked us to really get serious and stop messing around and we did, considering we won State”.

As a result of losing to West, the team had a vengeance to win. However, after playing in extra innings until the two-hour time limit expired, the game this year ended in a 3-3 tie to be finished May 10 at the BV West field.

“Obviously we wish we could have gotten the win at the K,” Kinney said. “We’re ready to finish it and come out on top.”