Walking through the tunnel, suddenly a world of green and sky appears. The scent of hotdogs and beer fill the air, the lights are blinding, and the red stadium rumbles in cheers as last year’s National League champions, the Philadelphia Phillies, take the field.
But in this game, a new color shined amongst the sea of red: Cabrini blue. Cabrini students traveled to Citizens Bank Park on Aug. 28, for the university’s night at the Phillies event.
Ring the bell
The Phillies faced off against the Los Angeles Angels for game one of a three-game series. Shohei Ohtani, widely considered one of the best players in baseball, started off the game with a single up the middle. The Angels ended the inning with a 1-0 lead.
The Phillies didn’t let the early run sway the momentum. Trea Turner answered back with a 374-foot shot to left center field for his first home run of the day, earning his 17th straight hit in a home game.
“The game was so much fun and I think a huge part of that fun was where we were seated. We had front row seats in left field,” senior education major Margaret Hoban said. “Trea’s home run was only a few sections away from us which was so exciting.”
Los Angeles retook the game in the fourth inning. The lead did not last long though, as Phillies slugger Bryce Harper crushed a ball into deep right center field to tie the game 3-3.
Trea Turner continued to steal the show with another home run in the fifth inning to give the Phillies a 5-3 lead. The Phillies finished the game with a 6-4 win.
“The atmosphere was absolutely wild,” senior health science major Abigail Flanagan said. “Being with my best friends at the event was already a win, but with the game turnout, and the really close seats, everyone was involved in the action. The energy from one fan spread to the other and everyone was on their feet the whole game.”
“Being able to go with all of my friends and create those memories makes the last year at Cabrini all the better,” junior communications major Ethan Baker said. “I would definitely go to another event like this. This game is a memory that will last forever, so I hope Cabrini gives us all the chance to keep having fun this year.
The mission for fun
Cabrini’s Center for Student Engagement and Leadership, SEaL, provided students with over 40 free tickets to the game.
Flanagan said, “I think Cabrini did a great job with this event. With the setback between COVID and a decrease in student events, it can be hard to get students involved. Hearing that within the first hour and a half SEaL had to reach out for more tickets is super impressive.” She added, “The tickets also doubled as a $10 voucher which allowed students to put this toward food, or even merchandise. The turnout was great, the transportation was provided, and all in all everyone had a blast.”
Raina Johnson, assistant director at SEaL, explained the center’s mission in its final year. Johnson noted that all SEaL events will also be free this year to remove financial barriers for students.
“We really want to focus on giving fun and memorable experiences for all the students. We want to make sure that even if we are doing less events, we are making them bigger, more memorable, and for more people to come along,” she said.
