What to Know
- The Yard Goats are hosting Harry Potter Night on Sunday, Aug. 5.
- The game starts at 5:05 p.m. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will get a free Golden Snitch Theme Baseball.
- The Goats are also hosting the Jordan Porco Foundation with a special Scooper Sunday to raise money for adult suicide prevention programs.
The Hartford Yard Goats are hosting the Trenton Thunder, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, this weekend at Dunkin’ Donuts Park. This weekend marks the first time the Thunder have visited Hartford in 2018.
Because of the popularity of the Yankees in the Northeast, games against the Thunder are always heavily attended and draw legions of fans of the Bronx Bombers seeking autographs or hoping to see a big leaguer on assignment.
The Thunder are currently sitting in second place in the Eastern League's Eastern Division and only two games back of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The Yard Goats are in third place, just over nine games behind the Thunder. The Goats play the Thunder eight times in August with the playoffs on the line.
This weekend also marks the return of fan-favorite player Drew Weeks to Dunkin' Donuts. Weeks played in Hartford in 2017 before getting the call up to Albuquerque, the Rockies' Triple-A club earlier in 2018. But after 49 games in New Mexico with the Isotopes, Weeks is back with the Goats and likely to get a warm reception from the fans.
But there's more than just baseball to be excited about at the park this weekend.
Fans are gearing up for a big game on Sunday night as the team honors wizarding legend Harry Potter. The first 1,500 fans in attendance Sunday, Aug. 5 will receive a “Golden Snitch Theme Baseball” as a free giveaway.
You can expect plenty of other Harry Potter-themed surprises throughout the night. But good news, we're told Muggles are welcome!
If you arrive early at Sunday's game, you'll have a chance to meet a number of members of the NBC Connecticut team, including Kaitlyn McGrath, Jill Konopka, Heather Burian and CT LIVE!'s Taylor Kinzler.
They'll all be celebrity scoopers at Scooper Sunday helping raise money for the Jordan Porco Foundation and adult suicide prevention programs. There will be 30 different flavors of ice cream to choose from eight vendors, including A.C. Petersen Farms, Bear's UConn Dairy Bar, Capital Ice Cream and Ben & Jerry's.
Local
Scooper Sunday will run from 3:15 to 7 p.m. at the Sam Adams Party Deck.
The American Red Cross will be honoring NBC CT, Telemundo Connecticut and the Hartford Yard Goats before Sunday's game after last month's largest ever single-day blood drive at Dunkin' Donuts Park.
Standing Room Only tickets remain available for Sunday's game.
NBC Connecticut is proud to be the official media partner of the Hartford Yard Goats.
