Lincolnview to play at Fifth Third Field

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

It’s not often that a high school baseball team has a chance to play in a professional stadium, but Lincolnview will enjoy the opportunity this Sunday at Fifth Third Field, the 7,230 seat home of the Class A Dayton Dragons.

The Lancers will face the New Knoxville Rangers, with the first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. Admission will be free for all fans.

“After talking to (principal) Brad Mendenhall, he mentioned how cool it was for his former team to make the trip to Dayton when he used to coach the Lancers,” Lincolnview baseball coach Eric Fishpaw said. “I emailed a member from the Dayton organization and it sort of all fell into place.”

“I then began to search for an opponent to play us down in Dayton,” Fishpaw continued. “Coach Sailer and New Knoxville agreed that his Rangers would play us.”

The day has been planned for a while, and Fishpaw said it will truly be a day full of baseball.

“Everyone is excited – parents, players, coaches and bat boys,” the coach explained. We will leave at 10 a.m. and head to the University of Dayton first to watch the Flyers play a few innings. We are hoping to see Ethan Kemler’s cousin (Tyler Jones) pitch for Dayton while we are down there.

“Our game is scheduled for 4:00 and we can enter the stadium at 2:45,” Fishpaw added. “We are hoping the rain will stay away from this game.”

While it’s a unique opportunity, Fishpaw said he expects things will be business as usual in terms of game preparation and play.

“We still approach this game the same as our others,” the coach said. “It will be a fun environment and opportunity for our program, but our approach will be the same as all the other games.”

“We are bringing all 22 of our players for this experience,” Fishpaw added. “We do play a conference game on Monday against Bluffton that we will need to be prepared for with our pitching rotation.”