Kevin's Baseball Stadium Blog: Atrium Health Ballpark

Columbia Fireflies (KC) @ Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (CHW)

May 25, 2025

Cannon Ballers 3, Fireflies 2

W: Kevin Davis
L: Nick Conte

S: Hale Sims

HR: Derlin Figueroa (COL)

Attendance: 2,385
Time of Game: 2 hours, 29 minutes

Stadium Facts

Location: Kannapolis, NC
Opened: 2021
Capacity: 4,930
Level: Single A
League: Carolina

My first 2025 visit to a stadium I had never been to before was Atrium Health Ballpark in Kannapolis, which is a short drive north of Charlotte where I was staying for the weekend. So I was able to hop on the road up to Kannapolis for a Sunday afternoon game and returned to Charlotte for an evening game there as well. With this being the only afternoon game of the trip, it is unsurprising that it was also the warmest. But the temperature actually exceeded what had been forecasted, so I was a bit warm sitting in the sun with jeans on while temps rose into the mid-70s. Still relatively mild for late May in North Carolina though.

When Minor League Baseball reorganized in 2021, dozens of teams lost their MLB affiliations. Most of the casualties were geographically isolated franchises or teams that were playing in facilities that didn't meet modern standards. The old Kannapolis stadium, which I visited in 2017, probably would have fallen into the latter category, so it is quite likely that their affiliation with the White Sox was saved by the fact that this brand new ballpark was ready to open in 2021. Atrium Health Ballpark is a HUGE upgrade over Intimidators Stadium (the team renamed themselves from Intimidators to Cannon Ballers at the same time the new park opened). I don't have a ton to compare it to since this is the first Low A ballpark I have visited these past two years, but it seems like a great facility for that level. It is situated in downtown Kannapolis, which isn't exactly a sprawling metropolis. However, this park appears to have initiated a bunch of new development projects in the area. There is a residential building overlooking right field, the first level of which contains a restaurant and the Cannon Ballers team store. The park has a very open layout with plenty of space to wander around while keeping an eye on the game as well. There are picnic areas down both the first base and third base lines and lawn seating available in left field. The main seating area contains real stadium seats, unlike Intimidators Stadium which was almost all bleacher seating as I recall. There is also a smallish second level with club seating available.

The White Sox prospect in Kannapolis who I was most interested in seeing, 6'7" outfielder George Wolkow, unfortunately had this day off. Fortunately, last year's Sox second round pick Caleb Bonemer did play. He didn't record a hit, but walked a couple times and made a few excellent defensive plays at third base. The Kannapolis pitchers were the story of this game. Starter Kaleb Sophy gave up a couple runs in 4 1/3 innings of work. The three relievers who followed him were nearly perfect though. Carlton Perkins, Kevin Davis and Hale Sims threw 4 2/3 innings without allowing a run or a hit. Columbia scored their only two runs of the game in the first inning on a crushed two run homer to right by Derlin Figueroa. They did not record another hit until a fifth inning single, and finished the game with just those two knocks. Meanwhile the Cannon Ballers were also stymied by Fireflies starting pitcher Blake Wolters who went five scoreless innings, striking out five Ballers hitters. Kannapolis finally got the bats going in the sixth after Wolters departed the game. A hit batter and a walk set up catcher Ronny Hernandez to deliver a game tying two run double over the centerfielder's head. The game remained tied until the bottom of the eighth. A single and a walk to open the inning put the Cannon Ballers in a great spot to take the lead. A wild pitch in a sacrifice bunt situation moved the runners into scoring position. Then Mikey Kane flared a base hit to left to score a run. Kannapolis was unable to add anything after that, but the one run proved to be enough. Hulking reliever Hale Sims, who physically reminded me of former Sox closer Bobby Jenks, retired the Fireflies in order in the ninth to record the save and preserve a 3-2 Cannon Ballers victory.

After seeing a pair of White Sox affiliate losses to open the trip, it was nice to add a win to the ledger this Sunday afternoon. That evening, Charlotte made it a Sox affiliate sweep for my Sunday doubleheader. After these games, it was back up north to Durham for a very damp Memorial Day.

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