Wednesday here in Virginia Beach turned out to be another scorcher. With temperatures climbing into the 90s and the humidity/dew point nearly matching it, it was just downright hot. Tropical, I think that’s what the WAVY TV10 weatherman coined it, tropical heat. Well, nothing beats the summer heat here in Hampton Roads like the wooden bleachers of Hampton’s War Memorial Stadium for some Coastal Plain League baseball. And nothing says summer like fireworks and baseball, right? Good, we are thinking alike.

Wednesday night’s game at War Memorial featured a Coastal Plain League matchup between the hometown Peninsula Pilots vs the Wilson Tobs. The pre-game Pilots social media posts promoted $2 hot dogs, $2 beers, and post game fireworks. Stop, stop, you had me at $2 hot dogs! Having been to War Memorial already this summer, I knew it would be a quick 30 minute trip from my home in Virginia Beach, over and under/through the Chesapeake Bay, and into the amazing city of Hampton. Rachel and I arrived around game time and the stadium was already rocking with Pilot fans. We found a spot high up in the bleachers behind home plate to check out the game.

Having been to and attended games for the Cape Cod Baseball League, New England Collegiate Baseball League, Sunset (Newport) League, Futures Collegiate, and more recently New York Collegiate Baseball League games, I have to say the talent and the entertainment and the value at a Coastal Plain League game is really impressive. Let’s start with the talent – VMI, Columbia, Norfolk State, Wichita State, Indiana State, James Madison, Bryant University – these CPL players are coming from top collegiate baseball schools and showcasing their baseball skills nightly. Second, entertainment. War Memorial Stadium is a fun park to see a game. The DJ plays lively music and encourages upbeat crowd chats. The scoreboard is lit up all game long with stats and graphics and a dancing T-Rex or Raptor thingy. The crowd is loud and into every pitch, from the 1st pitch. It is an exciting night of baseball, even for the casual fan. Last, value. $8 for general admission. Inexpensive food, inexpensive drinks, free parking (on the street), and huge return on investment given the talent on the field and the entertainment in the stands. Coastal Plain League, War Memorial Stadium staff, Pilots staff – you are impressive!

I mentioned the pre-game hype about post-game fireworks. Well, the Pilots set off some fireworks early and often with their bats. It was a barrage of walks, base hits, home runs, taking extra bases on offense. On the mound, the Pilot’s Brian Erue just mowed down the Tobs inning after inning. Of the 5 innings I watched, the Pilots were scoring and scoring often and Erue was putting up zero after zero vs the Tobs hitters. Really impressive team effort overall on the mound and at the plate by the Pilots.

As I mentioned, Rachel and I parked ourselves on the top row of the bleachers and got the cooling benefits of some stiff breezes flowing through the stadium. We were seated next to a couple scoring the game. The old fashioned way of keeping up with and recording the action of each pitch, hit, run, and strikeout with a pencil into a scorebook. And the two of them were huge fans of the Pilots, knew every player’s name, cheered loudly when they got a hit and when they scored. It was really cool sitting next to such big fans. That really made my night!

The only issue Rachel and I had all night was time. After running through the lineup several times with so many batters and with the Wilson coaching staff replacing Pitchers seemingly every few batters, it was fast approaching 9:30 and we weren’t even out of the 5th inning. The game started at 7pm?!? So, reluctantly, we decided to skip the fireworks show post-game having been satisfied with the fireworks that went off during the game. No bother, we got to see a ton of hits, runs, and some great pitching by the Pilots. In the end, the Pilots prevailed 14-4.

To coin an old phrase from my Rhode Island days, “it was a wicked fun night at the park.” War Memorial Stadium and their staff really know how to host a baseball game. They have the music, the scoreboard lit up, the DJ pumping up the crowd, the kids games on the field, and the talented collegiate players showcasing their talent in the Coastal Plain League. The Pilots are having a historic season and appear to be the team to beat in the CPL. At 25-9, the Pilots sit atop the Eastern Division with a little less than a month of games to be played. Look for them to push hard for the 2024 Coastal Plain League title. I will definitely be back to War Memorial before the summer is over to catch another exciting Pilots baseball game. And maybe stick around for the post game fireworks this time!