The opportunities to play in the big leagues are few and far between, but the varsity baseball team got a taste of it when they played Olathe East at Kauffman Stadium on April 11.

Although the team lost to Olathe East 2-5, they acknowledge that it was a unique experience. “It was a nice change,” Colton Rusnak, senior, said.

Josh Perkins, head coach, said, “This was a typical game against Olathe East, which is already a high intensity game as is, but I do not think playing at the K changed the players’ performance.”

There is a certain level of anxiety going into a new place though. “Anytime you go to a new stadium, it adds a level of unknown. In this case, the huge, empty stadium combined with not knowing the field can be unsettling for players,” Perkins said.

This is the fourth year that the team has played a game at Kauffman Stadium, but the first year that the game was on a Saturday.

The process that the team had to go through in order to play there was a lengthy one. The tradition began 12 years ago, when the varsity team played Olathe Northwest High School. Then Olathe Northwest played Olathe East until finally South’s varsity team began to play Olathe East at the K.

There are also certain requirements that a team must make in order to play at Kauffman Stadium. “We have to sell 1,000 Royals ticket vouchers to get to play. But this is also our largest fundraiser because we get to keep a portion of the profits,” Perkins said.

Perkins said, “We will try to continue to play at Kauffman Stadium because it is a good opportunity.”

Playing at the K may not have affected the team’s performance, but as Rusnak said, “This won’t be something I’ll forget anytime soon.”