Abingdon resident Jerry Bainbridge sat in the stands along the first-base side of Ripken Stadium Friday evening for the opening game of his 14th season watching the Aberdeen IronBirds.
Bainbridge, 54, wore blue batting helmet with a picture of the head of a bald eagle – similar to the IronBirds' team logo – emblazoned on it, along with the word "Ironfan." He said he has been watching the local minor league baseball team since he attended the first game in 2002.
"It's great that we have a minor-league team in Harford County," he said.
Bainbridge visited the stadium Friday with his grandson Dorian as they watched the 'Birds take on the Hudson Valley Renegades, the first contest in a three-game home series.
The IronBirds, who had a 27-48 losing record last year, are starting the 2015 season with a new manager, Luis Pujols, and a handful of new players.
Hudson Valley jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first inning, putting four runs on the board, and they went on to defeat Aberdeen 7-2.
The IronBirds made their first appearance in the postseason in 2013, and Bainbridge is optimistic about the club's chances this year.
"To get to the championship is difficult," he said. "It's a long, hard battle, even at this level."
Bainbridge said he has enjoyed watching young players come up through the Aberdeen roster over the years, including current Baltimore Orioles Matt Wieters and Manny Machado.
"Here, you get to know them, get to talk to them," he said.
The opening ceremonies for Friday's game included a tribute to the late Aberdeen City Councilman Bruce Garner, who died last December.
A white "BG" logo, Mr. Garner's initials, was sprayed on the grass along the first-base line, across from where the late councilman watched games.
His daughter, Jennifer Garner-Meehan, was one of three people who threw out a first pitch, along with Aberdeen Mayor Mike Bennett and Maj. Gen. Daniel Karbler, the commander of the Army Test and Evaluation Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
The field also bears the name of the Leidos company. Leidos, which is headquartered in Reston, Va. and has offices at APG and in Abingdon, specializes in a variety of "science and technology" fields, according to its website.
Leidos is partnering with the IronBirds, who now play on Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium.
"We're really excited for them to come on board and make this a community gathering point," Colin Clark, the team's vice president of brand marketing, said later in the game.
Players from the Belcamp Baseball and Softball youth leagues served as the traditional "co-pilots" for the IronBirds players during the opening ceremonies. Some Belcamp players paired up with an IronBird and the two ran onto the field together. Other Belcamp players hi-fived the IronBirds as they were introduced.
Abigail Griffey, 8, of Aberdeen, got to hi-five the players. She was also a co-pilot during the 2014 home opener.
"Good!" she said when asked how she liked hi-fiving the IronBirds players.
Abigail, who finished her last day of third grade at Church Creek Elementary School Friday, attended the game with her father Zach.
"I've been born and raised here [in Aberdeen], she's been born and raised here," Zach Griffey said.
He described Ripken Stadium as a "family-friendly park."
"Good food!," Abigail said. "Fun prizes!"
Fan Charles Kennedy, of Rising Sun, snapped a photo of his 3-year-old grandson Bentley with IronBirds mascot Ripcord.
"He was scared of the birds [at first], but he actually got his picture with one," Kennedy said.
Kennedy said he and his family come to Ripken Stadium about five or six times a year.
"I like it," he said. "I come here quite a bit; it's a lot cheaper and easier than the Orioles."
Most of the fans were silent when Hudson Valley shortstop Michael Russell hit a two-run homer in the top of the first, giving his team its first two runs.
Two women could be heard cheering loudly in the third base-side stands, though. Russell's mother Suzanne and her friend Amy Auten traveled from his hometown of Huntersville, N.C., which is just outside Charlotte, for his first minor league game.
"That was his first at-bat for this organization," Suzanne Russell said.
She said her son was drafted by Hudson Valley's parent club, the Tampa Bay Rays, in 2014 but spent the entire season on the disabled list.
Auten said her son John played baseball with Russell when they were in school and on travel teams, but her son does not play professional baseball.
"He's graduated from college and is out in the working world," Auten said.
Russell said her son's home run made the trip from North Carolina "worthwhile."
"The stadium's awesome," she said of Ripken Stadium. "It's beautiful here, and the weather's cooperating, not being too hot, and the town certainly seems like it's very supportive of baseball."