For day, baseball truly a kids’ game

The 51s fell behind the Sacramento River Cats 4-0 in the first inning Monday morning and saw their season-high three-game winning streak end with a 12-7 loss at Cashman Field.

But the defeat didn't dampen the enthusiasm of about 7,000 fifth-graders who attended the 10:30 a.m. game on "School Day."

Thousands of high-pitched screams emanated from the season-high crowd of 10,405, which included all of the fifth-graders from the Clark County School District's 50 elementary schools.

While the students chanted the names of each 51s player coming to bat, they saved their loudest chant for "SpongeBob SquarePants," erupting when the theme song for the popular children's character was played over the loudspeakers.

A group of girls from Darnell Elementary School said they prefer SpongeBob over baseball.

"I like the SpongeBob song (better)," 10-year-old Cara said.

But they agreed attending a baseball game on a beautiful day was better than being at school.

"We don't have (physical education), so it's good," 10-year-old Cassidy said.

For many kids, the 51s' sixth annual "School Day" was their first chance to attend a professional baseball game.

"We love it. It's a great opportunity for the kids," said Julie Hurst, a physical education teacher at Griffith Elementary. "We have a very large at-risk population from a very low-income area, so they don't usually have an opportunity to come here and see a baseball field like this.

"Just going to buy the (foam) fingers and go in the souvenir shop and have a hot dog, it's their first experience."

Monday marked the first professional baseball game attended by Jaime, an 11-year-old student at Griffith who was excited to see Las Vegas catcher J.P. Arencibia launch a three-run homer in the third inning.

"It's fun. I like the baseball game," Jaime said. "(My favorite part was) when the 51s made a home run.

"I'm going to start playing baseball. I usually play soccer, but now I like baseball better."

Griffith students Caitlyn and Jamie also enjoyed their first trip to the ballgame.

"It's actually pretty cool," Caitlyn, 10, said. "My favorite part is when they actually hit the ball."

Ten-year-old Jamie enjoyed the field trip for different reasons.

"I like how there's a bunch of stuff to buy, they hit the ball and you're allowed to use your cell phone here," she said.

The field trip started with a tobacco awareness assembly at Cashman Field. Hurst also taught her students some softball skills leading up to the game and said the students at Griffith would have to write a short essay describing their experience at the ballpark.

The baseball game itself was an educational experience for 12-year-old Carrigan, a student at May Elementary.

"I think it's really cool how they pitch and stuff, because I play softball and it's way different," she said.

Darnell Elementary student Brandon was attending his second pro baseball game. His first was in New York at a Mets game, which he said was "more exciting," but he still had fun Monday.

"It's awesome," he said. "We're at a baseball game instead of school."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.