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PEORIA — Opening day marked a fresh start in the grandstand and on the field for the Peoria Chiefs on Saturday at Dozer Park.
The St. Louis Cardinals High-A farm team dropped the opener, 6-2, to Quad Cities on Saturday afternoon in the front end of a doubleheader made necessary when rain postponed their scheduled opener Friday night for the first time in the 43-year history of the franchise.
But the 2025 opener represented a new chance for Chiefs center fielder Zach Levenson and for fans who have missed the game over the winter.
"I was putting it together here last season when I broke my hand," Levenson said. "It was a 96 mph fastball, and I forgot to get out of the way. It ended my season."
Levenson, an Orlando native, was a fifth-round pick by St. Louis in the 2023 MLB Draft after playing college ball at Miami. He opened his season at Peoria in 2024 with a 10-game hitting streak and went on to hit eight home runs in 70 games before his season-ending injury.
'Like a fever dream': St. Louis Cardinals prospect's baseball journey reaches Peoria
On opening day 2025, he was right back in center field at Dozer Park, ready to pick up where he left off.
When Quad Cities' Callan Moss sent a deep drive to left-center in the second inning, Levenson raced back to the track, wall, and crashed, unable to make the catch. But Moss was out at third trying to stretch the hit into a triple.
"I was thinking, 'Not again,' " Levenson joked. "But I should have caught it. This level is about production, though. It's about finding yourself, finding out who you are as a hitter and reaching your potential.
"The start of a new season, opening day, I know what I'm walking into here and it's a chance for a clean slate for everyone."
Up in the grandstand, Shawn Jason — a 40-year-old Chillicothe resident who works for the Chillicothe Park District — was sitting in the 51-degree first-pitch weather with his wife, Jenna, and sons Leo (10) and Oliver (9).
They are Cubs fans. But they wanted to be part of opening day in Peoria.
"I like the nets," said Jason, referring to the protective netting the Chiefs extended from home plate to outfield foul poles down both sides to keep foul balls away from fans. "It brings a very safe feeling here. We're here today, though, because there is something special about opening day and we want to create a family memory with this outing."
Background: Peoria Chiefs protective netting among multi-million-dollar renovations to Dozer Park
Down the left field side, near the third-base dugout in an area once a hot spot for foul balls, Miles Miller was sitting with sons, Zach (5) and Aiden (2).
"I'm a math teacher," said Miller, a Morton native who teaches at Tremont High School. "I've always found myself computing the angles with the hitters, the ball, where we're sitting. When you have young kids like this, dad has to be on the lookout.
"We feel very comfortable here now. We're here on opening day because those seem special, really, for any sport. That long wait over the winter, now the first game is here and we want to be part of it."
Umpires wasted no time getting the game under way, as there was no national anthem played (at least before the first game) and the 4:30 p.m. first-pitch arrived two or three minutes early, causing much of the Quad Cities team to scramble from its huddle in the bullpen area to the dugout.
The River Bandits wasted no time, though, against Chiefs right-handed starter Gerardo Salas.
Leadoff hitter Carson Roccaforte worked the count full and drove the ninth pitch of the season 412 feet over the wall in right-center for 1-0.
Salas came back to strike out two and get out of the inning. He ended up with a 65-pitch outing that included 3.1 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts.
The Chiefs started four left-handed hitters against Quad Cities left-handed pitcher and 2021 Royals No. 1 pick Frank Mozzicato. He struggled through a 32-pitch first inning, and Peoria tied it in the bottom of the first when Brayden Jobert looped a high flyball to left field that Bryan Gonzalez misplayed into a run-scoring, two-base error.
Sam Kulashingham lead off with a triple in the second inning for QC. He scored for a 2-1 lead on a sacrifice fly by Austin Charles.
In the top of the fourth, pitching to Trevor Werner, Salas' plant leg buckled and he tumbled to the ground on the mound. Training staff checked him and he threw a couple pitches and continued on.
He was later relieved by righty Hunter Hayes. In the top of the fifth Roccaforte drilled a two-run homer off Hayes for a 4-1 lead and Quad Cities had all it needed.
"The feedback has been great so far," said Chiefs general manager Jason Mott, who was overseeing his 10th Peoria opening day. "The fans really like the protective netting, the players like the field and everything is running on schedule."
Asked what he hoped to see the most on opening day, Mott said:
"You want to see the excitement in the eyes of the fans as they walk into Dozer Park. At the end of the day, we want everyone here to have fun."
This story will be updated.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or [email protected]. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria Chiefs baseball opening day: Fresh start for team, players, fans
Continue reading...
The St. Louis Cardinals High-A farm team dropped the opener, 6-2, to Quad Cities on Saturday afternoon in the front end of a doubleheader made necessary when rain postponed their scheduled opener Friday night for the first time in the 43-year history of the franchise.
But the 2025 opener represented a new chance for Chiefs center fielder Zach Levenson and for fans who have missed the game over the winter.
"I was putting it together here last season when I broke my hand," Levenson said. "It was a 96 mph fastball, and I forgot to get out of the way. It ended my season."
Levenson, an Orlando native, was a fifth-round pick by St. Louis in the 2023 MLB Draft after playing college ball at Miami. He opened his season at Peoria in 2024 with a 10-game hitting streak and went on to hit eight home runs in 70 games before his season-ending injury.
'Like a fever dream': St. Louis Cardinals prospect's baseball journey reaches Peoria
On opening day 2025, he was right back in center field at Dozer Park, ready to pick up where he left off.
When Quad Cities' Callan Moss sent a deep drive to left-center in the second inning, Levenson raced back to the track, wall, and crashed, unable to make the catch. But Moss was out at third trying to stretch the hit into a triple.
"I was thinking, 'Not again,' " Levenson joked. "But I should have caught it. This level is about production, though. It's about finding yourself, finding out who you are as a hitter and reaching your potential.
"The start of a new season, opening day, I know what I'm walking into here and it's a chance for a clean slate for everyone."
Opening day, fans, and nets
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Up in the grandstand, Shawn Jason — a 40-year-old Chillicothe resident who works for the Chillicothe Park District — was sitting in the 51-degree first-pitch weather with his wife, Jenna, and sons Leo (10) and Oliver (9).
They are Cubs fans. But they wanted to be part of opening day in Peoria.
"I like the nets," said Jason, referring to the protective netting the Chiefs extended from home plate to outfield foul poles down both sides to keep foul balls away from fans. "It brings a very safe feeling here. We're here today, though, because there is something special about opening day and we want to create a family memory with this outing."
Background: Peoria Chiefs protective netting among multi-million-dollar renovations to Dozer Park
Down the left field side, near the third-base dugout in an area once a hot spot for foul balls, Miles Miller was sitting with sons, Zach (5) and Aiden (2).
"I'm a math teacher," said Miller, a Morton native who teaches at Tremont High School. "I've always found myself computing the angles with the hitters, the ball, where we're sitting. When you have young kids like this, dad has to be on the lookout.
"We feel very comfortable here now. We're here on opening day because those seem special, really, for any sport. That long wait over the winter, now the first game is here and we want to be part of it."
Quad Cities 6, Chiefs 2
Umpires wasted no time getting the game under way, as there was no national anthem played (at least before the first game) and the 4:30 p.m. first-pitch arrived two or three minutes early, causing much of the Quad Cities team to scramble from its huddle in the bullpen area to the dugout.
The River Bandits wasted no time, though, against Chiefs right-handed starter Gerardo Salas.
Leadoff hitter Carson Roccaforte worked the count full and drove the ninth pitch of the season 412 feet over the wall in right-center for 1-0.
Salas came back to strike out two and get out of the inning. He ended up with a 65-pitch outing that included 3.1 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts.
The Chiefs started four left-handed hitters against Quad Cities left-handed pitcher and 2021 Royals No. 1 pick Frank Mozzicato. He struggled through a 32-pitch first inning, and Peoria tied it in the bottom of the first when Brayden Jobert looped a high flyball to left field that Bryan Gonzalez misplayed into a run-scoring, two-base error.
Sam Kulashingham lead off with a triple in the second inning for QC. He scored for a 2-1 lead on a sacrifice fly by Austin Charles.
In the top of the fourth, pitching to Trevor Werner, Salas' plant leg buckled and he tumbled to the ground on the mound. Training staff checked him and he threw a couple pitches and continued on.
He was later relieved by righty Hunter Hayes. In the top of the fifth Roccaforte drilled a two-run homer off Hayes for a 4-1 lead and Quad Cities had all it needed.
"The feedback has been great so far," said Chiefs general manager Jason Mott, who was overseeing his 10th Peoria opening day. "The fans really like the protective netting, the players like the field and everything is running on schedule."
Asked what he hoped to see the most on opening day, Mott said:
"You want to see the excitement in the eyes of the fans as they walk into Dozer Park. At the end of the day, we want everyone here to have fun."
This story will be updated.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or [email protected]. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria Chiefs baseball opening day: Fresh start for team, players, fans
Continue reading...
