A postgame solar eclipse. A Midwest League championship. Opening night.

These are just a few of the most memorable moments at Bowling Green Ballpark, according to current and former front office staff.

Thursday was supposed to be opening night of the 2020 season, but with the season currently on hold due to the global pandemic of the coronavirus, the Daily News asked the Hot Rods’ staff to share some of their top memories during Bowling Green’s first 11 seasons.

Tom Gauthier, the original voice of the Hot Rods radio broadcasts, said the franchise’s first home game on April 18, 2009, was definitely a moment he remembers.

“I felt a lot of pride for being part of something from the ground up,” Gauthier told the Daily News. “Seeing the park and teams and lights, it was really cool to be a part of that.”

Gauthier said it was challenging to broadcast down the third-base line because of the closeness to the field and the unique viewing angle, but added with the Hot Rods opening the season on a lengthy road trip it allowed him to just treat it like any other game – making the broadcast a bit easier.

BG Hot Rods GM/COO Eric Leach said the entire 2018 season, that culminated in the Midwest League championship, was one of his favorite moments. Bowling Green rolled through the regular season by winning 90 games before going 7-1 in the postseason. The final win came on Sept. 16 when the Hot Rods beat Peoria (Ill.) 7-2 to win the best-of-five championship series 3-1.

“Two things really stood out about the night,” Leach said. “The first was the sheer joy of the players. They really wanted it and it is a memory that they will have the rest of their lives. It was a goal that (manager Craig Albernaz) set, the team bought into it and it really showed. The pure jubilation was awesome to see and experience.”

Leach also remembers the other side of the celebration – with Peoria general manager Jason Mott, one of Leach’s good personal friends, and his staff also in attendance at the clincher.

“Jason has spent some 15 years working in baseball and has never been part of a championship,” Leach said. “The lasting memory is when everyone was gone, Jason, his staff and our staff all hung out into the wee hours of morning celebrating the whole season together. Wins and losses didn’t matter, but the journey and friendship is what kept us together. Very classy on their part.”

While the 2017 season didn’t end with a championship, the season included one of the franchise’s unique experiences – a morning game that ended minutes before a total solar eclipse.

More than 6,000 fans were in attendance, with players and fans gathering on the outfield grass to watch the eclipse. It was a moment that video production assistant Blake Forshee said was about more than baseball.

“It was one of the most surreal moments I’ve ever experienced not just at a baseball stadium, but anywhere,” Forshee said.

The Hot Rods were able to include the fans in the eclipse experience, one of the many promotions and community events that the franchise has held throughout the first 11 seasons. Jennifer Johnson, who started as an intern in the inaugural season and was hired as an office manager in 2010 where she worked until 2017, was heavily involved in a lot of the on-field events that took place before the game. She said the June 17 game designated Playing for Mason Night, celebrating the life of Mason Goodnight who passed away suddenly at the age of 10 in April of that year, was an event that really stands out.

“We were able to use baseball, a sport he was passionate about, as a way to bring the community together to honor his life,” Johnson said.

“Having players from every level of baseball come out to take a photo on our field in his memory, seeing Little League players attending the game wearing their jersey in support of Mason, and then, of course the tribute to Mason on the field pregame with his family in attendance – it was all very special to be a part of.”

There were plenty of in-game moments that stood out as well.

Current Hot Rods radio broadcaster Shawn Murnin said Joe Ryan tying the franchise record with 12 strikeouts and Wander Franco’s two-home run game were accomplishments that stand out to him.

Gauthier said Victor Mateo’s seven inning no-hitter – the first in franchise history – stands out in 2011, while Johnson and former Hot Rods broadcaster Hank Fuerst both named Bowling Green’s combined no-hitter in 2013 – with future Cy Young winner Blake Snell one of four pitchers used in the game – as one of their favorite moments.

There were some weird moments as well, including Memorial Day 2018 when Zack Rutherford hit a grand slam in a driving rainstorm that would have given Rutherford the franchise record for RBIs in a game. The Dayton Dragons successfully appealed, saying that Vidal Brujan never touched home plate, so Brujan was called out and Rutherford’s grand slam was ruled a home run.

Leach also recalled last season when Ruben Cardenas was a member of the Lake County Captains, but was traded during the game from the Cleveland Indians organization to the Hot Rods’ Major League Baseball affiliate, the Tampa Bay Rays. After the game Cardenas packed his bags and made the short walk from the visitor’s clubhouse to the home clubhouse to join his new team.

Then there were moments that stood out even when the game, or the season, didn’t go as planned. In the 2010 home finale, the Hot Rods were already eliminated from the postseason and on the way to a 13-9 loss to Fort Wayne. But outfielder Burt Reynolds provided a memorable moment when he hit a grand slam, the only home run he hit with Bowling Green, and the production team started playing Jerry Reed’s “East Bound and Down” as he circled the bases – much to the delight of the crowd.

“It was an amazing moment,” Fuerst said. “It was a moment that you can only replicate in minor league baseball.”{&end}