SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. -
It may be the off season but hundreds of kids at the Orchard School in South Burlington are ready for Red Sox baseball.
"It was pretty chaotic; people were yelling, but it was pretty awesome," said Olivia Prue, a student at the Orchard School.
"The place kind of went crazy because they were all super excited that two major league baseball players came into our school," said Nico Strempek, a student.
Tuesday, two members of the major league roster made a special stop in the elementary school's gym. Pedro Ciriaco and Ryan Lavarnway were in Vermont as part of a Red Sox holiday tour around New England.
Catcher Ryan Lavarnway stressed the importance of working hard in school.
"Follow your dreams and work hard and the path through education will lead you where you want to go," he said.
A message that was clicking with these young fans.
"I learned that it can really help, even if it is not the learning, sometimes it is just meeting the people," said Sabian York, a student.
"Ryan Lavarnway was saying you should really take school seriously and not goof around and get really bad grades because he had really good ones and got to go to Yale," Strempek said.
Ciriaco plays the infield and talked about his love for the game and how he's working hard to learn English.
"You never give up, always move forward and learn from your mistakes," he said.
Never giving up is something the school's librarian can relate to. Donna MacDonald's consistent tweets to the players and team over the weekend are what landed the special visit.
"I tweeted on Friday and then again on Saturday and again on Sunday and I heard the response," MacDonald said.
A response that gained rave reviews with her students and is getting these major leaguers fired up to return to the field.
"Half of the kids out there were wearing Red Sox gear and this really is Red Sox Nation and the excitement that they showed it got me excited," Lavarnway said. "It's November and I am ready to play ball again right now."
The team's first spring training game is slated for Feb. 21.
The players also made stops at the Vt. Statehouse in Montpelier and met with patients at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington.
