Family baseball trips never experienced this.

Beginning last Friday night during a Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals regular season game at Busch Stadium, members of a club baseball team representing Stephen F. Austin sparked a craze which is spreading like wildfire throughout several major league parks.

“Tarps Off” creates an environment similar to hockey arenas and European soccer. Continuous cheering seeking to rally the home team. With one major caveat: Fans, primarily young-adult males, in these designated sections are shirt-less. Shirt waving never stops.

And rarely does the noise. Cases of laryngitis probably set in after nine innings — and highly likely after extra innings, which is how this idea found its origin with these 16 to 18 young men, which eventually grew to hundreds in the same sections located in the second level near the right field foul pole.

The Cardinals walked it off in the 11th inning on Friday night. For Saturday afternoon’s game, a large group gathered in the same area, shirts off of course, even before the Stephen F. Austin team members arrived in the third inning. By the end of the game, more than a thousand individuals had congregated for “Tarps Off.”

As a show of appreciation for these supporters, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol purchased 1,500 tickets to be distributed. His gratitude didn’t stop there. As part of one postgame, he invited the team from Stephen F. Austin into the clubhouse for a meet-and-greet with Cardinal players.

Social media lit up. And even though the Stephen F. Austin players were unable to attend Sunday’s series finale as part of their obligations to compete in the National Club Baseball Division II World Series in Alton, Ill., the sensation has continued in Seattle, Detroit, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia and Anaheim, Calif. before a week had passed.

On Wednesday, the St. Louis Cardinals officially created a “Tarps Off” Fan section in the upper right field bleachers.

Commonly seen with Pittsburgh Steeler fans and waving their “Terrible Towels,” young adults waving their shirts like a rally towel brings a breath of fresh air into ballparks. Just another avenue to generate interest in the sport with the younger generation.

More importantly, sends a message to the players their home fans care and are passionate about the product on the field.

Bravo to these kids for thinking outside the box.

Passing the Time

Spent nearly an hour for Williamstown’s elimination baseball game with Ravenswood to resume following a weather delay. Good idea to have a backup plan in place in order to pass the time, such as listening to humorous banter between husband and wife who were in charge of tracking the official pitch count and working the scoreboard in the pressbox, and deciding who was in charge of making dinner later that night.

Another conversation from inside a dry pressbox: Next potential sport to come into play for the WVSSAC? Heard rumblings in the past, but the idea is gaining steam that girls flag football could become reality sooner than later.

Which season — fall or spring — could be a sticking point.

Playing the Field

In baseball-speak, there’s the immaculate inning, a natural cycle and even the golden sombrero.

In the regional game Wednesday against Williamstown, Ravenswood sophomore Ralphie Rhodes went 4-for-4 at the plate with all singles. Digging deeper into those at bats, Rhodes’ first three singles were hit to three different outfield positions — center, left and right.

His walk-up song for next season should be “Say It Isn’t So” by the 1980s band Outfield.

The Real Bashers

With area representatives Parkersburg South and Ritchie County advancing to the WVSSAC State Softball Tournament, wanted to throw in this factoid about the sport.

The Super Regionals for Division I college softball began this week. UCLA is the 1927 version of the New York Yankees — eight players have hit at least 13 home runs in the Bruins’ 58 games played. UCLA is seeking to add on to its already NCAA record 193 homers.

More impressive, Bruins’ Megan Grant now holds the record with 40 homers in a single season. Her OPS is a smidge off 2.000 (1.989). For major league baseball, 1.000 is the desired threshold.

Those who remember the home run battle in 1961 between Yankee teammates Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, UCLA boasts its own version with Grant at 40 and Jordan Woolery at 34. The NCAA record entering this season was held by Arizona’s Laura Espinoza hitting 37 homers 31 years ago.

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com