Pirates' Griffin, Jones and Gonzales surprise customers at Pittsburgh-area Sheetz

From serving fast balls to serving up fast food, Pirates players traded the dugout for Sheetz on Friday.

It was an all-star stop at the Sheetz on Route 228 in Cranberry Township. Pittsburgh Pirates Konnor Griffin, Jared Jones and Nick Gonzales surprised workers and fans ahead of Friday night's game. 

"This is really cool," fan Josh Neurohr said. "Did not expect this to happen today."

From preparing food, signing balls, giving away gift cards and photo ops for fans, the players were just as excited as those they surprised.

"It's super important," Gonzales said. "Obviously, they come support us after work or whatever it may be and I can come do this before my job."

And of course, the Pirate Parrot and pierogies were there to hype everyone up.

"I was actually just in the area and drove past Sheetz and saw the Pirate Parrot outside, and I'm like, 'I gotta go check this out,' and came in and there's multiple Pirate players in here, so it's pretty cool," said Tyler Yaskula.

Sheetz says the collaboration with the Pirates was aimed at creating memorable experiences for Pittsburgh fans.

"We just want to make someone's day and have some fun while doing it," said Sheetz brand publicist Caroline Constantine.

"We try to tell everybody we're normal people too," Griffin said. "Yeah, we play baseball for the Pirates, but we get to come and do things like this and just enjoy getting to interact with the fans."