The Calgary Vipers, with the best road record in the Northern League, could find their first half pennant destiny in the remaining eight games away from Foothills Stadium. The first place Vipers are 13-3 wearing their road uniforms and only 7-12 on home turf. The Vipers open up a crucial three game series with the Winnipeg Goldeyes on Tuesday night at CanWest Global Park near the forks of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers. Thursday night’s game can be seen on Shaw Cable 10 in Calgary. They then head home for five against the Kansas City T-Bones on the Canada Day long weekend and finish off the first half with a five game set against Schaumburg in the Chicago suburb.
The Vipers lead the Northern League’s North Division by a mere half game heading into the final two weeks of the first half. Statistically Vipers star centerfielder Darryl Brinkley is making the first half a one man show. The long time Triple-A veteran is leading the league in an astonishing eight categories. His .419 batting average is tops in the circuit and more than 50 points higher than runner up Carlos Duncan, his Vipers teammate. Brinkley is tied for the home run lead with 8, is first in RBI with 40, first in hits with 65, first in on-base percentage at .471, first in slugging percentage at .665, first in extra base hits with 21 and first in runs scored with 31.
While they split a four game weekend series with Edmonton on the field the Vipers also had their best weekend in attendance since the inception of the franchise. The weekend fan count was just under 9,000 for an average of almost 3,000 per game. This coming weekend the Vipers have a number of appealing promotions. On Friday night the first 1500 fans through the gates will receive a Vipers Baseball Cap valued at $15.00. On Saturday the T-Bones and Snakes will play an afternoon game at 1:35 pm to avoid congestion with the Stampeders game. Every fan going to see the Stamps and Ti-Cats in the evening will be allowed into the Vipers game at no charge simply by showing their football ticket. On Sunday and Monday the Vipers will celebrate the Canada Day Long Weekend.
Upcoming promotions include the Paint the Park Pink weekend where the Vipers will wear special pink trimmed uniforms to auction off each game; the Vipers SunFest Weekend where the first 2000 fans will receive free sunglasses and much more, Calgary Real Estate Board Night and the Cardel Night Under the Stars.
Tickets for all Vipers games are available through the Vipers Box Office or by calling 277-BALL (2255).
