CWU students and alumni traveled to T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington on April 27 to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks take on the Seattle Mariners. With the 2,000 tickets allotted for the CWU section sold out, the Wildcats started to spill into the rest of the ballpark too. Along with purchase of a ticket, fans received a co-branded CWU Mariners jersey. The Mariners won with a final score of 3-1.

The boardwalk in section 339 was bustling with members of the Wildcat family, even Wellington the Wildcat made an appearance to take pictures. The CWU cheerleaders brought tons of energy to the environment and 88.1 The ‘Burg provided music and on-the-spot interviews. 

The CWU and Mariner mashup jersey was a hot topic for fans as they all were lined up before section 339 had opened. The specifics of the jersey entail the regular Mariners lettering but with a red jersey and the CWU logo on the left sleeve. 

 “I got the black one [jersey] last year, but I think I like this one a little bit more just because the color is a little more obvious that it’s Central,” Danielle Haggerty, a CWU graduate student, said. Jackson Brassfield, a third-year student double majoring in law and justice and political science, thought last year’s jersey was a bit better, but he is still a big fan of the red. 

Raya Miron, a junior sports management major, was able to work behind the scenes of the event along with many other sports management majors. Miron said that it would have been a lot more fun if it hadn’t rained, but “That’s Seattle for you.” 

Miron shared her thoughts on this year’s jersey, as well as the overall experience of the event. “As someone who was behind the scenes, I thought it went a lot better than expected,” Miron said. “I think they were good quality and cute but maybe putting the year on the back would have made it extra special.”

Miron and other sports management majors were tasked with bringing recognition to the event and serving as a guide to CWU students and alumni. The students were in charge of setting up and taking down equipment for the alumni gathering at the boardwalk, pointing people in the direction of where to get their jerseys and making phone calls weeks ahead to persuade the alumni to buy tickets. 

Ryan Moreno, a senior marketing major, discussed his excitement to grab the jerseys upon arrival. “These are the reasons I come to these,” he said. Moreno also praised CWU for making the event happen again this year. “I think it is so sweet,” he said. “I don’t see a lot of colleges doing this … So it’s really fun to see a lot of my friends, staff and family all here.” 

The competing teams did not provide much action for the fans with their bats as the game was mostly dominated by the pitchers. Mariners’ pitcher George Kirby put on a show recording a career high of 12 strikeouts in seven innings of work allowing only two hits. 

By the bottom of the seventh inning the Mariners led 1-0. Then, with a runner aboard, first baseman Ty France launched a two-run-homer over the left center field wall, giving the Mariners a three-run buffer and ultimately securing them the win.