Matt Kline scored a home run off a low and inside pitch to kick off a new season on a new team. Sounds like a sports story, but it’s not — it’s a love story.

Kline wanted to make a big impression when he planned, with the help of the La Crosse Loggers, to ask Kelly Jo Elsen to marry him. He knew there was going to be a fan appreciation night and he arranged with Ben Kapanke of the Loggers staff to have Elsen be the one to throw out the first pitch on July 24.

Kline put on the Loggers uniform and catching gear and went to the catcher’s box to some pitches from Elsen. With his mask still on, he then walked out to the mound to hand the ball back to Elsen and removed the catcher’s mask to reveal himself. In front of all the fans, he then asked her to marry him.

“It was quite spectacular,” she said. “I could see something was being planned out, me being the one to throw out the first pitch. But I wasn’t sure.”

Elsen said the two had talked about marriage off and on. They hadn’t talked about a specific date or even getting engaged. “We just knew we would be spending the rest of our lives together,” Elsen said.

The two met at the Features Sports Bar and Grill in Holmen. She was there with friends sitting inside, he was there with friends sitting outside. “He walks by and dipped his hand into the fountain and made the sign of the cross,” Elsen said. “We thought that was rather strange and laughed at him and teased him. Turns out we had mutual friends. Then he swooned me with his karaoke that night.”

That was July 1, 2007.

Kline, 29, has been a a kindergarten and first-grade teacher at Viking Elementary School in Holmen for the past seven years. He went to Winona State University and majored in early childhood education while he played baseball for the WSU team.

Elsen, 24, just got her first teaching job at Logan High School teaching health. She is a graduate of West Salem High School, where she was on sports teams. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, majoring in health and adaptive physical education.

Kline planned the proposal for months. He knew they both loved sports and loved being outdoors and loved going to the Loggers games, so he thought it was a natural fit.

Kline and Kapanke got their heads together and came up with a couple ideas. One idea was for Kline to wear one of the mascot’s costumes and reveal himself on the mound, but they settled on him wearing the uniform and the catcher’s gear.

“Ben was awesome,” Kline said. “He got me the uniform, kept me up to date on what was happening.”

He didn’t tell anyone except his sister-in-law, who helped him get tickets for both families and friends and made sure they all got there that night. About a month before the game, Elsen got a call from the Loggers that she had been selected to throw out the first pitch.

“I think that’s when (Kelly Jo) put me on high watch,” Kline said. “She knew something was up; she didn’t know what it was. All the females from the families and friends were suspicious, but all the males were blown over.”

Kline said she practiced throwing for about nine hours in the front yard. He joked that on the field that night he was making great catch after great catch from her. “The Loggers were buzzing about my great catching skills,” he joked.

One thing he wasn’t expecting was the crowd. “I didn’t know there would be so many fans,” he said. “But I didn’t get nervous because all of them were behind me.”

Another thing he laughs about is that while he was waiting around the dugout and in uniform, he sat talking with one of his sports heroes and didn’t even know it. “I didn’t know Greg Vaughn was there for most of the game. I was sitting with my childhood hero and I didn’t know it was him.”

The best part about it, Kline said, was having the families to witness it. “Both of our moms were bawling together. It was neat for them to share their excitement. Not only did they get to see it, they can tell story after story about it.

“The whole thing instantly went from watching a ball game to a wedding planning meeting,” Kline continued. “Kelly Jo spent 95 percent of her time phoning her friends. She was so excited.”

A wedding date has not been set, but they are working on it.