The Perryville baseball team will be playing in the big time this upcoming spring.
The Pirates will play at Busch Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, against Rova-Williamsfield on April 20.
“I believe it’s a big deal for the Perryville baseball program,” Perryville baseball coach Don O’Keefe. “It’s going to be a good thing for everyone involved.”
Perryville was originally scheduled to play Chester in the game, but had to find a new opponent at the last minute. Perryville will take the field after the Cardinals play the Milwaukee Brewers at 1:15 p.m. that day.
“We had been talking about it for months and then Chester told me they couldn’t do it,” O’Keefe said. “Thankfully, we were able to find someone else.”
Rova-Williamsfield is a school out of Oneida, Illinois, that went 11-18 last year.
O’Keefe said he isn’t too worried about the outcome of the game, although he would like to win.
“My goal is that everyone plays,” he said. “I want everyone to be able to experience playing in a Major League ballpark. I want this to be a positive thing for the team and the program as we move forward.”
Other schools in the area such as Jackson and others also play at Busch Stadium on a semi-annual basis. O’Keefe hopes Perryville can follow in those footsteps.
“We had a game scheduled in my first time as coach and it didn’t come through,” O’Keefe said. “My goal is to do this every two years, so that if you come play baseball at Perryville, you will be able to play at Busch Stadium twice.”
