Navs get warm welcome at Fraser Field in season opener

LYNN – Moments after her flawless rendition of the National Anthem Saturday night, Lynn Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy paused to take in the scene around her.”There have to be more than 2,000 people here tonight,” she said. “I saw a lot of people from my class and the one right after it (at Lynn Classical).”I’ve run into neighbors, and colleagues at City Hall,” she said, “and it’s wonderful for our city.”Well over 2,000 showed up Saturday night for the Navigators’ 6-5 opening-night win over the Wachusett Dirt Dogs. And, like all other minor league incarnations at Fraser Field, the accent was on fun and baseball together.View Photo GalleryNow, the trick is to keep it going.”Let’s hope,” said general manager Bill Terlecky, “that this is a good forerunner that it’ll be a good season for us.”Judging from the crowd, and the degree to which it seemed to enjoy itself, the Navs are off to a good start.”I’m amazed at the turnout,” said Pete Dow, who was at the game with his wife, Jill, and their son Aiden.”Aiden’s down there (on the hilly knoll on the first base side of the diamond) running around and playing with all the kids,” Dow said. “He’s having a blast.”I think the kids ? they come here to run around and have fun, and maybe watch the game late. But it’s good for a guy like me, too. It’s nice to be somewhere where I’m not coaching him.”Dow, an official and manager in Lynn’s Pine Hill Little League, is very thankful that the Navigators are so attentive to the area’s Little Leagues.”They have a night for all the Little Leagues, and they do a lot for them,” Dow said.But even for those who don’t have children, the Navigators are a very good take, says Swampscott’s Lisa Sheehan.”I love baseball,” she says, “and I think this is great for the North Shore. My father was a semipro baseball player, and he got his start here at Fraser Field.”Saturday’s was the first Navigator game she’s attended, “but there will be many more,” she said. “It’s a great venue ? beautiful night ? the popcorn is fantastic ? I love it.”That should be music to Terlecky’s ears.”A crowd like tonight ? it’s good for the players,” he said. “It energizes them. And it makes this a great event for the North Shore. We’re thrilled. That’s the whole idea. We try to put on a good show.””(Terlecky) has made this truly, truly a family event,” Kennedy said, noting that the Navigators’ staff doesn’t miss a trick in its efforts to make sure it’s fun for all ages. She said that one of the Navigators’ staff members thought a song coming over the PA system was not appropriate.”He told another staffer to go upstairs and have them change the song,” she said. “They actually monitor the songs, to make sure it’s fun for all ages.”Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].