Two Boys Have Fun

In Foul Territory At Shea

By Steve Bigham

Two Newtown middle school students headed down to Shea Stadium Tuesday night and ended up having a ball… actually two balls.

Ricky Andrews and Matt Cole, both 11, each came home having caught a foul ball during the game, which turned out to be a 3-2 Mets loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in 10 innings.

Ricky snared his ball midway through the game on a foul off the bat of Edgardo Alfonso. The youngster had just finished saying how cool it would be to catch a ball hit by the Mets’ second baseman, his favorite Major League player. Moments later, Ricky proudly had the ball in hand.

 Matt got his ball later in the game on a foul ball hit by a Phillies batter.

The Andrews family has attended numerous Mets games over the years – always sitting in the same seats between home plate and first base – but no one had ever actually caught a ball before. Ricky and Matt changed all that Tuesday night.

The two friends, who will both be seventh graders next fall, have something else in common too, having each won Babe Ruth baseball titles this spring. Ricky was a member of the National League champion “Orange Crush” in the 11-12 year-old division, while Matt’s 11-12 year-old squad captured the American League title.