The Belchertown baseball team has been dying to play baseball. Thanks to a rainout last Monday, March 31, the Orioles’ game against Northampton got postponed. They would have to wait until the end of the week to host Minnechaug for their season opener. Some teams had already played three games by last Friday, but Belchertown was finally suiting up to play their first – a 3-0 loss to Minnechaug.

They may not have been able to practice on their washed-out infield for the first few weeks of the season, however the Orioles haven’t let it slow them down. Belchertown, under head coach Evan Berneche, is loaded this spring – returning nine seniors from last year’s bunch.

Berneche wanted to do something special for his senior class that they’re going to remember well past their playing days. So, he reached out to Longmeadow baseball head coach Ryan Blain, who he used to work with at Chicopee Comp, and asked if Blain would be open to scheduling an independent game just as they did last spring. Blain accepted, except this game wasn’t going to be played at one of the two high schools.

The coaches instead reached out to the Hartford Yard Goats – the Double A affiliate of the MLB’s Colorado Rockies – and Dunkin’ Park to rent out field space. They found a date and time that worked for each side, and came up with the money to make it happen. It cost $3,800 to rent the space for the game, which the two teams split evenly.

Aside from their history as coworkers, Berneche also knew Blain from when Berneche played for and against Blain’s father growing up. Their game a year ago displayed competitive, high-level baseball, with Longmeadow pulling out a 7-4 win. When the thought popped up in Berneche’s mind to play in Hartford this season, Blain was the first coach he had in mind. After he agreed, they just had to figure out the logistics.

Dunkin’ Park offers several different packages when renting out their field – the Orioles and Lancers went all out.

“I wanted to play a good team there,” Berneche said. “I want to play someone who is going to push us. [Blain] agreed, and from there we just had to go through the process of setting up the rental fee. You can pick packages, and we went all out. We’re playing a night game, we do video board stuff with all of the kids’ head shots up on the screen, they play music. It’s kind of a whole thing. It’s a good experience for them. I want them to think back and say, ‘That was awesome.’”

While the experience and environment are going to be memorable, Belchertown’s time in Connecticut will be even more memorable if it picks up a win, and Berneche knows that. Most of the players on the two rosters play against one another in the offseason, adding yet another layer to this early-April contest between to western Mass. heavyweights.

Belchertown has barely used its infield due to the weather. It just hasn’t been ready to play on aside from its season opener. Going from that to picture-perfect conditions is going to be quite the jump – and the Orioles can’t wait.

“It’ll probably be the best-conditioned field we play on,” Berneche said. “Under the lights, in a professional ballpark. And it’s against kids they know, these guys all play against each other in the summer so that kind of adds to it. It’ll hopefully be a competitive game which will make it even better.”

As Belchertown jogs out for warm-ups, Berneche wants his guys to understand they may never get an opportunity like this again. Competing in a professional stadium on the same field that potential future MLB players play on is not a normal experience for a high-school kid.

And although the Orioles are sending a chunk of their players off to play in college, this still may top their list of baseball memories when it’s all said and done.

“Just that experience of playing in a minor league stadium, which probably not many people get to do unless they play in college maybe, [is pretty cool],” Berneche said.

Belchertown and Longmeadow aren’t the only western Mass. schools playing regular season games at Dunkin’ Park this spring. Easthampton and Ludlow will tangle on April 21 at 3:30 p.m., while Athol and Franklin Tech are set to do battle April 11 at 6:30 p.m. Last year, Hampshire Regional and South Hadley did battle there – a 3-1 Tigers victory.

Dunkin’ Park opened in 2017 and holds over 6,100 people.