A packed house and a 10-inning victory over Buffalo get Pawtucket's home season off to a rousing start.

01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, April 16, 2005

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

PAWTUCKET -- Call it the trickle-down effect.

McCoy Stadium was jam-packed for the Pawtucket Red Sox' home-opener last night against the Buffalo Bisons, and it's obvious fans in New England have the baseball bug thanks to the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series in 2004.

There wasn't an empty seat or standing-room spot available last night at McCoy as the PawSox defeated the defending Governors' Cup-champion Bisons, 4-3, in 10 innings. Mike Lockwood's pinch-hit RBI single drove in George Lombard with the winning run.

The afternoon sun welcomed the fans to the ball park, and even the frigid night-time temperatures couldn't spoil the fun. An hour after the first pitch, traffic around McCoy was bumper to bumper, and Route 95 was backed up, as well. Even the grassy berm in left field began to fill up at 5 o'clock.

"First, it's a Friday night," said team president Mike Tamburro. "Second, I think you can count on one hand, maybe one finger, how many sunny opening days we've ever had. So, to have the sunshine, the excitement around Opening Day and the Red Sox' championship has certainly added to this. But it's been a cold, long winter and people are embracing the idea that baseball at McCoy means summertime can't be that far away.

"There's no doubt the enthusiasm for baseball in New England is built upon what the Red Sox did in October," Tamburro added. "It's made baseball hotter than it's ever been."

By comparison, only 1,790 fans turned out for the first home-opener of Ben Mondor's regime, on April 15, 1977.

On April 14, 1999, when the renovated McCoy opened, 10,586 fans attended. Last night, the PawSox enjoyed their sixth-largest crowd (11,144) in team history. The largest was 11,802 last September.

"I was impressed," said Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson. "This place was packed. I keep looking up from third base, counting each row, and there was somebody in every seat. It was a fantastic crowd and a good ball game."

Returning home from a 2-6 season-opening road trip, the PawSox took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run homer by Shawn Wooten. With two outs, Kevin Youkilis crushed a triple before Wooten belted a 2-0 pitch into the left-field berm.

However, Buffalo responded with a run in the second and a pair in the sixth to take a 3-2 lead. The lead didn't last long as Pawtucket's Alejandro Machado pushed across the tying run in the bottom of the seventh.

Lombard drew a walk in the 10th, stole second and advanced to third on Youkilis' groundout to second. Then Lockwood provided the winning hit -- a line drive up the middle.

If the home-opener is any indication, it could be a special summer for all of Red Sox Nation.

"It's been a miserable winter," said Tamburro. "People want summertime. People want baseball. People want Red Sox baseball. People love baseball, and we love to have them here at this stadium."