Wind chills in the 20s for Thursday night high school baseball

Wind chills were in the 20s when high school baseball games were played Thursday evening.

The crowds on Thursday looked similar to those at cold, fall football games. There were lots of blankets and cold weather gear.

Fans got friendly as they settled in for a varsity baseball scrimmage of Plano West versus Highland Park at Scotland Yard.

Highland Park Head Coach Travis Yoder put his team through an extra 15 minutes of warm-up because of the temperature in the low 40s and wind chills in the 20s.

"We go through three different rotations with bands and ladders and dynamic stretching before they even start running,” he said. “We try to get them to break a sweat, even in weather like this."

It's up to school districts to decide whether they'll play in the cold.

Yoder says he and the Plano West coach moved the game from Friday to Thursday.

"We thought maybe we can get some of the sunshine in before it gets really cold,” he said.

Jon Blair came prepared to watch his son play third base and pitch for Plano West.

"When you freeze to death often enough, you learn to buy the gear,” he said.

Blair took a heater, rechargeable hand warmers and a heated vest.

"It makes a huge difference,” he said. “And we're kind. We rotate with the other parents."

Blair's son is a junior. He joked that when he graduates, they'll sell off all their baseball cold weather gear or pass it down to other dedicated parents.

Highland Park won the scrimmage 7 to 5.

High school baseball season starts officially at the end of the month.