On an Infestation of Children
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Mississippi Mud Monsters vs. Windy City Thunderbolts
Ozinga Field
Frontier League
Crestwood, IL
10:35 AM
Outside the Game:
It was a good morning. I had a good sleep. I went down for a good breakfast. And I went back up to my room and had a good idea.
While I had decided to ditch the excessive driving for the last two games I had considered for this trip, I hadn't realized I could pull off a single-day, two-city doubleheader. With the school game this morning and a night game at Peoria, I didn't need to wait until the next day to check off the Chiefs, and I could just do them that day.
I booked my room for the night and was packed up and ready to go at a little after 8 AM. I quickly checked out and made the short drive to the park. I was greeted by a disturbing amount of EMT volunteers who were at the park for some reason. I parked up and went to look for the ticket booth.
The ticket window was open, but before selling me a ticket, the staff warned me that it was a school day and the park would be filled with kids. I told them I was aware, but appreciated the warning.
I went outside and got my photos of the park, and had to button up my shirt and hope for the best, as it had gotten cold overnight and I was in danger of catching a chill.
I lined up at the right field entrance when I was done, and I was quickly joined by a hoard of schoolkids who were vomited out at the base of the ramp by lines and lines of schoolbuses.
The gates opened on time, and after the game will be covered in our next entry.
The Stadium & Fans:
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| Home to center, Ozinga Field |
Level what criticisms you will at Ozinga Field--and sitting smack-dab in a sea of asphalt is just one of its sins--it at least isn't a cookie-cutter park.
Unlike nearly every other low-level park these days, there isn't just some promenade with one row of seats under it. There is a small interior walkway that leads down to an abbreviated section of seats beneath it, ending in party areas in the outfields, but there is an entire upper level on the third-base side, running the length of the seating bowl. A second-level behind home plate holds the broadcast booth and some suites. There is a whole external walkway as well, holding more concessions and bathrooms. The large box scoreboard with a small video screen attached was in right-center, looking over the smattering of trees in the distance.
There is a play area in right field, but it was conspicuously closed for the school day, nor did mascot Boomer make any sort of appearance. There were minimal events between innings at this morning game, and they were mostly involving representatives from the various schools in attendance, playing various embarrassing games to the delight of their students.
At the Game with Oogie:
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| Expanded brat-fest |
I went in and did my normal picture-taking and shopping, before getting a brat-fest of a brat, pretzel, and soda.
My original seat was smack-dab in the middle of a section of special needs schoolkids, and their chaperones had enough to deal with already, so I decided to go hide in the last row of the upper deck, only to have a school pour into every last seat in the area. The chaperones were constantly blocking my view, and the "Windy City" team lived up to its name, and I was freezing in the cold wind in the upper deck.
So after two innings, I saw an area down below not yet claimed by schools, so I made my way to their to settle in for the rest of the game. There was a high-school in front of me, but I was warmer and not completely deafened by squealing kids, so it worked just fine for me.
The Game:
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| First pitch, Mud Monsters vs. Thunderbolts |
This chilly contest between the Mississippi Mud Monsters and the Windy City Thunderbolts was an affair of control (or lack thereof), with a slow-moving game marked by pitchers who just couldn't find the the zone.
The Monsters started strong, getting a run across in the top of the first on a single and a double, staking them to a 1-0 lead. Windy City tied it on a walk, stolen base, balk, and single, knotting the game at 1-1 after one. Despite a leadoff hit batsman, Mississippi still went in order in the second thanks to a double-play, while the Thunderbolts took the lead on an infield single that made it around the bases thanks to two errors and a stolen base, giving the home team a 2-1 lead after two. The Monsters tied it again in the top of the third with a a double and a single, and Windy City somehow went in order despite a two-out walk who was caught stealing.
In the top of the fourth, Mississippi got two home with back-to-back walks and a double and sac fly, jumping to a 4-2 lead. The Thunderbolts went in order. The Monsters went in order in the fifth, but Windy City got one run back on a couple of singles and a sacrifice fly, closing the gap to 4-3. Mississippi only had a single in the top of the sixth, while the Thunderbolts stranded two singles in their half.
The Monsters got another run in the top of the seventh, with a double and two singles to stretch their lead to 5-3, while Windy City stranded a single. Both teams went in order in the eighth, but Mississippi did so with the help of a double-play to erase a walk. In the ninth, the Monster stranded some runners and Windy City stranded a walk, leaving the final tally at 5-3 for the visitors.
The Scorecard:
Mississippi Mud Monsters vs. Windy City Thunderbolts, 06/20/26. The Monsters won, 5-3.
I was using the BBWAA Scorebook again, and there were a handful of plays that deserved note.
For a double in the top of the first, it looked like a pretty clear 9-3-6 putout, but the runner was called safe for some reason. A stolen base in the bottom of the first was actually a 1-3-6 caught stealing, but the shortstop was not called for an error in dropping the throw. The next pitch was a balk. In the bottom of the second, with a runner at first, a liner to the shortstop was an easy L-6-3 double play, but the first baseman dropped the ball for an error and the runner would eventually score thanks to a stolen base and another error, when a throw to third to catch him stealing was muffed by the third baseman. In the top of the seventh, there was another questionable double that went off of the center fielder's glove into right, but it was not ruled an error. In the top of the ninth, there was an E6 on a throw to second to start a double-play, but the runner was thrown out 6-3-2 trying to score from first.
The Accommodations:
I was at the Staybridge Suites in Peoria for this night, but I wouldn't get a chance to use the bed until after the next game...
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