Late in the 2006 high school baseball season, Shiloh Christian coach Ken Opsal spoke with one of his players about the prospect of playing a game at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis.

He said he was only "joking around" at the time.

"I can't remember how we got on the subject, but we talked about playing in the Metrodome," Opsal recalled. "I told him it was possible … that it really wasn't that difficult to get a game there. He said, 'Really?' and I said, 'Yeah, really.' We talked about it a little more and I kind of thought that it would end there … but it didn't."

No, it didn't.

One thing led to another and on Saturday, the Skyhawks will take on Opsal's alma mater, Patrick Henry High School of Minneapolis, at the stadium the Minnesota Twins call home. The seven-inning contest will follow Saturday's Twins-Tampa Bay Devil Rays game.

"Obviously, we're all really excited about it," Opsal said. "To be able to play in a big league ballpark … it's like a dream come true. We know it's going to be a memorable weekend."

Senior infielder Johnny Coleman agreed.

"We're all pretty pumped about it," said Coleman, Shiloh's lone all-region selection last season. "It'll be an experience none of us ever had before. It's going to be a lot of fun."

Shiloh's journey to Minneapolis began shortly after Opsal had that conversation with the Shiloh player. Aplayer's parent approached him a few days later and asked him what needed to be done to schedule a game at the Metrodome.

"I told him it was just a matter of renting out the dome, scheduling a date and finding an opponent," Opsal said. "We figured it was a possibility, and if we started working on it right away we could make it happen."

Opsal knew the process. While a member of the Patrick Henry baseball program, he played games at the Metrodome four times.

See Shiloh, Page 6D

"A lot of teams from the Cities play there every year," Opsal said. "I remember what a fun experience it was for me. It's a big league park. What kid wouldn't enjoy playing in one?"

The rental fee is steep - $450 an hour, $1,350 for a three-hour block. Opsal said raising Shiloh's share of $675 wasn't a problem. Neither was finding an opponent. All Opsal had to do was call his high school baseball coach, who is no longer coaching but is now the athletic director at Patrick Henry.

"He was open to it right away … he thought it was a great idea," Opsal said. "He was a big help in working out all the details."

When it came time to pick a date, the two sides chose April 14 because it was the Twins' only Saturday home date in April. The dome gave them the OK, but they had to play the game after the big league contest.

"We probably won't get going until 9 or 9:30 at night," Opsal said. "It's not a big deal, though. We'll have fun with it … the game and everything else, like batting practice, warming up in the infield and outfield, and just hanging out in a big league dugout."

Saturday's game will be a David vs. Goliath matchup. Shiloh has 100 students, while Patrick Henry has about 1,000.

"It'll definitely be the biggest school we've ever played in any sport," Opsal said. "(Patrick Henry's) program is struggling with numbers this year, but they still have quite a few more than we do. We're also a lot younger than they are. But we're going to go out and compete for seven innings. It would be big for us if we won it."

It appears that Saturday's game will be Shiloh's season opener. Inclement weather has postponed at least a half-dozen Shiloh games, so far.

"We were hoping to have some games under our belts before the road trip, but it hasn't worked out," Opsal said. "We'll be a little rusty, but no matter what happens it shouldn't take anything away from the whole experience."

The weekend also will include a visit to the Mall of America and a cookout with the Patrick Henry coaches and players.

Opsal hopes the Shiloh team can make frequent visits to the Metrodome. And, he hopes the experience will help generate more enthusiasm for Shiloh baseball.

"It's something that will get the kids excited," he said. "If they have something like this to look forward to, it might get more kids interested in playing baseball."