After an emotional Boston Red Sox Opening Day ceremony and game, I had just enough time on Friday to recover for a night game at Harbor Park. Before I get to the Harbor Park experience, I have to say that Boston sports organizations have Opening Day/Game down to a SCIENCE! They bring back Boston sports legends, they have emotional tributes, they tug at your baseball heart strings, and allow all the memories to just flow through you like a delicious gulp of your finest Irish whiskey. Yesterday, pre-game my hero, Carl Yaz and the remaining living members of the 1975 American League Champion Red Sox were on hand for a special on field reunion. Yaz threw out the first pitch to Sox Manager Alex Cora and then the Sox beat up on the STL Cardinals 13-9. What a game, what a celebration, what a day to be a Red Sox fan!

With the Red Sox win in the books, Rachel and I decided to take the short drive (city route down VA Beach Blvd) over to Harbor Park, home of the Norfolk Tides. And temporary home field (one of two locally in Hampton Roads) for the Old Dominion University Monarchs baseball team for 2025. Old Dominion was scheduled to take on the #20 ranked D1 baseball team in the country, Troy University. Night game, weather in the mid to upper 70s at game time, this is going to be fun.

For those of you heading to Harbor Park this Spring and Summer, parking is going to be an issue you need to address ahead of heading there. With the new casino construction taking a bite out of the usual parking options, parking in Downtown Norfolk may be your best option, according to a Norfolk Police officer I spoke to at the park. Luckily, Rachel and I were able to find parking in Lot C, across from the main gate of Harbor Park. I don’t think we would have had the same luck competing with the nearly 8000 fans that attended last weekend’s Norfolk Tides opening series. So, plan ahead and look to park downtown and walk or take the commuter train to the games.

There was at least an hour of daylight left as we entered Harbor Park through the front gate, up the stairs, and into the concession stand area. Tickets for last night’s game were all GA (general admission) so we pretty much sat where we wanted to. There was a good crowd at game time and it would eventually fill in really nice as the game progressed. We sat just under the concession stand level to catch the first few innings of the game. It was so great to be back at Harbor Park. The new seats looked great. The new safety netting looked amazing. The view of the Elizabeth River and all the ships and tugboats traveling back and forth was cool. Planes flying overhead heading to ORF, trains riding the rails next to the park, Harbor Park is a really special baseball experience. I’m not at love yet, but it’s getting pretty darn close.

Around the 3rd inning, Rachel and I checked out some concession stand options and settled on Ynot Italian for dinner. A few wings, pepperoni Stromboli, and a few sodas – my kind of dinner for a baseball game. Speaking of baseball, Troy University’s Garrett Gainous was pitching an absolute gem on the mound against ODU. Tall, RHP with a strikeout stuff, limited ODU to a few hits, and little or no major contact at the plate. Gainous would pitch 7 complete innings and would eventually get the W for Troy (spoiler alert). I was impressed with his stuff, he threw the ball very well on Friday night. ODU countered with more of a “by committee” pitching rotation. ODU starter, Ben Moore lasted 4 innings, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits. I believe I saw 4 pitchers altogether for the Monarchs last night, the best being the first one out of the bullpen, Hunter Baynes. Baynes went 2 plus, striking out 3, and looked very solid on the mound for ODU.

After Troy’s Blake Cavill crushed a towering home run over the 400 foot sign in Harbor Park’s center field, Rachel and I started to collect our things and head for the exit. Despite the score (Troy with the 7-0 win), the game was very exciting. A few errors aside, it was a well played game. Troy’s Garrett Gainous was impressive on the mound, holding ODU to no runs and just a few hits. ODU countered with 5 pitchers, allowing 7 runs on 9 hits. The weather held out for the majority of the game with some light sprinkles and mist here and there towards the very end of the game. I was psyched to get a game in and see ODU at Harbor Park before they head back out on the road, which seems to be their MO for 2025 – a ton of road games. Overall, it was another amazing Norfolk baseball experience at Harbor Park, featuring the “waiting for their new stadium to be completed” home team, Old Dominion University Monarchs baseball team.

If you are in the area this weekend and want to check out ODU vs. Troy at Harbor Park, the two teams are playing today, Saturday April 5th at 3pm and tomorrow, Sunday April 6th at 1pm. Tickets are just a QR scan code away and general admission tickets let you sit anywhere you like in beautiful Harbor Park.