Crestwood

On an Infestation of Children

Ozinga Field, 2026

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:

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:

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:

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, 05/20/26. 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...

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2026 Main Trip: Cheese Pigs Cars

Schaumburg

On the Sun, Planes, and Making Friends

Wintrust Field, 2025

Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Windy City Thunderbolts vs. Schaumburg Boomers
Wintrust Field
Frontier League
Schaumburg, IL
11:00 AM

Outside the Game: 
I was up early again and down as soon as it opened for a much nicer hotel breakfast. I then was just as quickly back to my room to pack up, book my hotel as close as possible to the early game tomorrow, and nap until I had to leave for the early game today.

After checking out at just after 10 AM, it was an incredibly short drive to the stadium, and their parking lot was even free. I bought my ticket, hit their team store, and then walked around to take my outside pictures and drop off everything at the car before heading back to the entrance to get in right as the gates opened.

With an unoccupied afternoon ahead of me after the game, I went to the Cosley Zoo, a small enterprise nearby. It was originally a one-man operation that he dragged along to official accreditation, and it was a lovely little farm zoo that was completely re-doing their duck pond during my visit.

New friend

It was mostly petting-zoo level of animals, and there was one goat that looked at me with tired, tired eyes. I scratched her behind her ears, and based on the noises, I'm pretty sure I got some years taken off of purgatory for it. A zookeeper said she was the mom for all the baby goats that were bleating all over the place, and it being just after Mother's Day, I figure she deserved some special attention. I scratched her ears until she eventually wandered away. I also saw a raccoon that seemed to be having an anxiety attack, and I felt very, very close affinity to that animal.

Over the top, boys.

After seeing my fill and inevitably hitting the gift shop, I drove over to another nearby museum for the First Division of the US Army. It was another well-done affair, talking about history of the division's engagements through the years on one side of the building, and on the other, talking about the various missions and uses in more modern times. They had a giant tank park outside (along with a Huey attack helicopter, for some reason), as well as an interactive trail exhibit on D-Day that dragged you through the sand and up the heights to learn about the events of the invasion.

There was supposedly a French restaurant attached to the museum, but it was definitively closed, so I started my drive out to Indiana, hitting real, annoying traffic for the first time on the trip. I didn't have anyplace to be, but I was hangry, which did not help.

I eventually made it to my hotel outside of Gary and checked in. After getting situated, I took the advice of the hotel clerk and walked to the brewery next door for dinner, having a beer and burger, and then indulging in a giant fudge brownie cooked and served in a skillet, as the sun set on another day.

I waddled back to the hotel, washed up, and settled in for the night, catching up on YouTube and organizing my paperwork for the trip.

The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, Wintrust Field

Wintrust Field was largely cut from the same template as all these indie parks I was visiting this week, with its own little difference. There were stairs up to all but the main entrance, and the luxury boxes had their own entrance on the third-base side. There was a main promenade around the top of the seating bowl that extended from first to third with a picnic berm at each end, but it did not go all the way around the park.

A second level of press and luxury boxes ran on top the facility from about first to third, with championship banners on the press box facade. A kids zone and corporate picnic area were in left field, and a small special seating area in right, with the main video board rising majestically up from left-center.

Misunderstood hydrofluorocarbons

The place was packed for another education day early start. Coop, the boomer owl, was the mascot de jure, and again the between-inning events were stuffed with kids and teachers from the various schools. They also has an aerosol can mascot race, sponsored by the local aerosol can manufacturers' conglomerate, pushing the message of how "misunderstood" they were. Don't ever change, Midwest.

Also, I'm pretty sure that the person who bought the team named it such just so he could get the chant "Let's go, Boomers!" screamed at him by succeeding generations of people who do not like his generation, nor would ever chant that in any other circumstance.

At the Game with Oogie:

"Breakfast"

I went around with my normal business of taking a lap and pictures before scaring up a brunchfast of a hotdog and souvenir soda. (I had also been mistaken for press about three times this day.) The ticket guy had given me a seat smack dab in the sun, so I tried my previous tactic of just sitting in the last row of the last area in the shade, but I was bounced by a school group, so for the first couple of innings, I was on the railing on the shaded promenade. 

A guy who worked at the park was talking to me about my scoring while I was up there, and he explained the infrequent--but hardly ignorable--small planes flying low over the park were landing at the regional airport just past the outfield walls. 

During the late innings, the school groups started to leave, so I absconded to an unclaimed seat in the shade to give my back a rest.

The Game: 

First pitch, Thunderbolts vs. Boomers

This early-day contest between the Windy City Thunderbolts and the Schaumburg Boomers was the first blow-out I had so far this trip, but at least the home fans went home happy.

Windy City went in order in the first, but the Boomers just started scoring. A walk, two singles, and another walk, two singles, wild pitch, and sacrifice fly staked them to an early 5-0 lead. The Thunderbolts went in order again in the second, and Schaumburg, perhaps tired, did as well. Windy City got their first hit in the top of the third (though it was almost a nifty play), while the Boomers kept scoring with a walk, a balk, and three singles, plating two more runs, making it 7-0.

The Thunderbolts finally got on the board in the fourth, with three singles and a passed ball getting across two, making it 7-2. Schaumburg took those runs back with a hit batsman and a homer, stretching the lead back out to 9-2. Windy City went in order in the fifth, and the Boomers only had a leadoff walk to show for their half. The Thunderbolts got back on the board in the sixth, stringing some singles and a throwing error into a run, closing it slightly to 9-3. Schaumburg got that back and more in their half, with three walks, a passed ball, and two singles turning into three more runs to leave it 11-3.

Windy City went in order in the seventh, while the Boomers snuck another one across with a walk, single, and sacrifice fly, to make it 12-3. The Thunderbolts sat down in order again in the eighth, while Schaumburg piled more on with two singles and a three-run homer, to blow it out to 15-3. Windy City, perhaps just wanting to go home, went in order yet again in the ninth, leaving it 15-3 final. 

The Scorecard:

Windy City Thundbolts vs. Schaumburg Boomer. Boomers win, 15-3.

I was again testing the new generation of erasable pens on the BBWAA scorecard. Lots of runs in this one, and even a balk, but not too much worth noting.

The first hit of the game in the top of the third for the Thunderbolts was an infield single that was almost an incredible 6-5-3 put out after being deflected off the shortstop, but the runner beat it out. In the top of the sixth, there was an overthrow home by the right fielder that let the other runner advance. In the bottom of the same sixth, the catcher completely lost track of a passed ball that allowed a run to score from second. And in the eighth, the Thunderbolts put in a position player to try and save the bullpen, the first time I ever saw that in person.

The Accommodations:

Hampton Inn & Suites, Hammond

There are, not surprisingly, no hotels in Gary, IN, one of the poster boys for the rust belt. For that, and many other reasons, I stayed relatively close by in Hammond at the Hampton Inn & Suites, about fifteen minutes from my last early game the next day. As I was going to have an extended time in the hotel again, I went for a slightly nicer than average place.

There was a big bathroom just off the entrance to the room, and the same slightly nicer bed, night tables, and easy chair on one wall, and bench, dresser, and desk on the other.

I lazed around after dinner, so the little bit nicer was well worth it for the extra time I spent there.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2025 Main Trip: Illi-noise