The perfect summertime family Saturday night of kicking back, enjoying a local microbrew or an icy soda and watching some of the best local baseball to be had can be found right here in our own backyard.

Kitsap is fortunate that a group of committed community investors with a fundamental belief and passion for the sport of baseball came together in 2005 to launch the Kitsap BlueJackets.

As a member of the West Coast League, the BlueJackets play a pretty demanding schedule which tours a rather large area of the Pacific Northwest. Wooden bats at the ready, team members are a committed group of college-eligible-student athletes looking for exposure and continuing development in a sport that they love.

This past weekend we picked up three tickets for select stadium seating from Team Sports Bremerton on Friday afternoon and then on Saturday we headed out to game against the Klamath Falls Gems.

Pure, up-close baseball does not get any better than this. We snagged seats right off of the third base line and proceeded to enjoy 11 full innings and a very exciting finish when the single from Anthony Blackie shuttled in the game winning run.

What makes a BlueJacket game a fun experience is the various forms of between-inning entertainment, drawings and games provided for kids and adults alike. These keep the energy high and the hilarity going.

Chances to win a free pizza, team t-shirt or other prizes send the BlueJacket interns out onto the field with groups of participants who park their reluctance at the gate and willingly engage in various off beat activities as they compete against one another for prizes.

The game we attended had one of the opposing players designated as the “Burrito Grande” player of the night.

Wearing the number 7 did not seem very lucky for this guy and it took until the 10th inning for him to strike out so that everyone attending the game could pick up their coupon for a free burrito from the local Taco Bell. Fans reacted like they had won the lottery and the burrito jokes were flying nearly as fast as the baseballs.

One can tell that the organization behind the team has spent a considerable amount of time and energy making these games as enjoyable as possible for the fans. The sound system is fantastic, the announcer is smooth, funny and articulate and the music selections keep everyone entertained.

Even better one of the team organizers gave Nick one of the foul balls for participating with the rest of the young people who wanted to run the bases after the game.

He was then able to take that ball and have it graciously signed by many of the players who position themselves near the exit after the game to personally thank as many of the fans as possible for coming. They are a group of polite, talented and tall young sportsmen.

Thank you Kitsap BlueJackets for the wonderful time we had as a family. We will most assuredly be back for more games this season.

If you are looking for something fun to do this summer take in a Kitsap BlueJackets game. You can locate the schedule here: www.bluejacketbaseball.com.