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Tonya Sellick waited at Delta Dental Park at Hadlock Field’s main entrance at 2 p.m., a half hour before an usher would happily scan her ticket and let her into the ballpark for the Portland Sea Dogs home opener Tuesday afternoon.

The ballpark is Sellick’s Happy Place. We’re a week into April, but as we know, the spring calendar in Maine is more often a suggestion than a rule. The January-sized snowflakes that swirled through the air didn’t suggest baseball. Sellick didn’t care. It was Opening Day, and if the Sea Dogs could handle a burst of winter, she could too.

“Ever since last season ended, I got excited for this season,” she said. “Every day was a day closer to Opening Day.”

Sellick has had a season ticket since 2021, the year the team returned following the 2020 season lost to the COVID pandemic. Originally, Sellick sat in section 101, behind the first base dugout. When the Sea Dogs moved to the third base dugout last season to be closer to their new clubhouse behind the left field bullpen, she switched to section 111, moving with the team.

“She’s one of the most dedicated fans the Sea Dogs have, no question,” said Jack Day, one of the ushers greeting fans at the entrance. As Sellick waited to be let in, a line of fans forming behind her, she joked with Day and other team employees who came by to say hello.

She loves the game-day staff at Hadlock, Sellick said. She remembers their names, and they remember hers.

“Hi there! How are you, Larry?” she said. Another employee walked past. “Hey, John!”

It’s easy to come out to a game on a warm summer night or Sunday afternoon in July. The early season games of April are cold, raw affairs. It’s a lot harder to enjoy a Sea Dogs biscuit, the team’s signature ice cream sandwich, when you’re wearing mittens.

Sellick, and the other fans who waited out the snow Tuesday to watch the game, which started 45 minutes late due to work to get the field ready, are among the diehards. She wore her Sea Dogs winter hat.

Sellick attended the team’s Fan Fest next door at the Portland Expo last week. She enjoyed seeing Emma Tiedemann, the team’s play-by-play voice, as well as meeting manager Chad Epperson, the coaches, and the players. She hasn’t chosen a favorite player for this season yet.

“I’m looking forward to seeing them play, each and every one of them,” she said. “It should be a good time.”

Sellick’s favorite Sea Dog of all time? Easy question. Relief pitcher Theo Denlinger, with whom she shares a birthday, July 10. He pitched for Portland in 2023 and 2024.

She’s excited for some of the promotions the team will have this season. She’ll get some bobbleheads to add to her collection. The Ceddanne Rafaela and Brayan Bello bobbleheads are among her favorites, and it’s almost time to get a new shelf for them. The nights that include a postgame fireworks show are always a pleasure, too.

When she enters the ballpark, Sellick typically walks around a bit before going to her seat. She likes to do a lap, peeking into the Sea Dogs bullpen as players walk through to get to the dugout, or just people watch on the concourse. Her reason for arriving at Hadlock early is simple, and something many of us can relate to.

“I try to be early because I don’t like the long lines,” Sellick said.

For the next five months, Sellick will haunt Hadlock Field, a welcome friendly face. Who cares if it was 36 degrees at first pitch Tuesday? There will be plenty of warmer games. Probably a few colder ones, too, if we’re being honest.

The gates opened, and Sellick was the first fan in the ballpark for the season. A little snow couldn’t wipe the smile from her face.