I got to the ballpark around 4:45 pm, and this was the scene at the Riverwalk.

The stairs leading down were blocked off with caution tape because the Allegheny River was overflowing.  However, I went down anyway.  One ball bounced out as I arrived.  Had I been five seconds earlier I would’ve had it, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Here’s a different angle:
My first ball of the day once the stadium opened was snagged here.  It was a home run that I chased down here:

The Pirates batting practice continues to be less than stellar, as they fail to reach the seats very often.  Once the Pirates were done hitting, I changed into my Brewers gear, and the action began.

The Brewers first group contained Carlos Gomez, Jonathan Lucroy, Ryan Braun, and Prince Fielder.  They hit a bunch of homers.

I snagged my second ball in section 134 off the bat Jonathan Lucroy.

My third ball was a home run hit by Ryan Braun.  I could tell that it was going to be way over my head, so I ran back under the bleachers and snagged it under the rotunda.
My fourth ball was glove tricked right next to the Pirates bullpen door.

I also saw this there:

However, it was 5:28, and I had knocked it snug against the wall and couldn’t see it anymore, as I couldn’t lean out over the wall because of the fencing.  I gave up and let it go.  Totally forgetting about it.

I checked in right field for an easter egg or two, but there was nothing there, and I didn’t want to miss out on all the action in left field, so I returned to left.  The second group also put plenty of balls into the seat.

Rickie Weeks hit a home run ball that I chased down under the rotunda for ball #5.  And moments later, a batter that I believe was Casey McGehee hit a home run that also went under the rotunda which I tracked down.

Ball #7 of the day was a ground rule double hit by Weeks that I snagged here. 

It was a hard hit line drive that skipped over the wall quickly, but I was able to stay with it to make the catch.

My eighth ball was a glove trick ball snagged right by the 325 sign:

That was it for batting practice.   After batting practice, Nick tipped me off to a ball in the bullpen.  It was the same ball that I started working on at 5:28 that I had knocked against the wall.  I had totally forgotten about it.

Nick assisted me by going to the second deck of bleachers to guide me to the ball.  Remember, I couldn’t see it, because there’s a fence there, so I couldn’t see the ball below at all.  I was able to knock the ball away from the wall, and with my arm through the fence, was able to glove trick it.

Thanks to Ian Weir for taking the picture.

Ball #10 came around 6:55 when Kevin Correia, the Pirates started finished his warm ups in the bullpen.  I asked politely for the ball, and he looked up and tossed it to me.

Moments later, Ball #11 came from Jose Tabata in the first inning.  I noticed he was looking at a group of college aged folks, so I went and stood directly to their right.  Since I was the only one with the glove, he fired me a perfect strike.  He put some zip on the throw too. 

Notice how small the crowd was at game time.  There was a Penguins playoff game, and I doubt that half of the 8,000 fans that bought tickets actually showed up.

Remember those Allegheny River pictures from 4:45 pm?  The river was rising:

Pretty cool huh?
Well, despite the small crowds, I didn’t snag another ball.

Here are today’s 11 baseballs:

And the sweet spots.

STATISTICS: