(April 6, 2017) Hundreds of Berlin Little Leaguers will march down Main Street during a season-opening parade on Saturday that’s been a tradition in the town for a decade.
Parade organizer Jocelyn Snelsire said more than 500 boys and girls signed up to play baseball and softball with Berlin Little League this year. She expects about 300 players, in uniform, to take part in the procession.
The parade is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. at the Berlin Fire Company, with players traipsing south down Main Street and ending at the sports complex off Route 113, just beyond Main Street.
At 10 a.m., the children will gather on “C Field” to launch opening ceremonies for the season. That will include a service for the 10- and 11-year-old all-stars, who won a district championship and played in the state finals last year, and the 13- to 16-year-old all-stars, who won the state tournament.
Regular play starts at 11 a.m. on all six fields and will continue until 3 p.m. Snelsire said ballgames would run practically every day of the week, starting on Monday, April 10.
“I think the parade is a tradition that everybody looks forward to,” she said. “I know a lot of people in town come out on opening day and kind of line the street. I think the businesses look forward to it [because] it kind of kicks off the beginnings of the tourist season to come.”
Those most excited for the parade, she said, are often the smallest children in the league. Rookie League players are 6-8 years old and Tee Ball players are 4-6 years old.
“I know the little kids get excited every year to have their uniforms and be ready to play. It’s a big deal,” she said. “This is my 10th year in the league and we’ve done it every year, except last year, when it rained. Hopefully, the weather cooperates and it’s just a nice kickoff, getting ready for spring.”
Snelsire said the league continues to push its capital fundraising campaign for a new lighting system on one of the fields. Because the baseball and softball seasons cannot start earlier than April and extend longer than mid-June – because of weather restrictions and the start of playoffs, respectively – the league is looking into the addition of night games to accommodate a growing number of players.
“We’re almost halfway to our goal of raising $50,000, and then we were going to borrow the rest,” she said. “That’s going to be our focus once we get the season started.”
To donate, contact Berlin Little League Vice President of Operations Eric Snelsire at 412-977-3882 or email e.snelsire@gmail.com. For more information, visit www.berlinlittleleague.org.
Parade organizer Jocelyn Snelsire said more than 500 boys and girls signed up to play baseball and softball with Berlin Little League this year. She expects about 300 players, in uniform, to take part in the procession.
The parade is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. at the Berlin Fire Company, with players traipsing south down Main Street and ending at the sports complex off Route 113, just beyond Main Street.
At 10 a.m., the children will gather on “C Field” to launch opening ceremonies for the season. That will include a service for the 10- and 11-year-old all-stars, who won a district championship and played in the state finals last year, and the 13- to 16-year-old all-stars, who won the state tournament.
Regular play starts at 11 a.m. on all six fields and will continue until 3 p.m. Snelsire said ballgames would run practically every day of the week, starting on Monday, April 10.
“I think the parade is a tradition that everybody looks forward to,” she said. “I know a lot of people in town come out on opening day and kind of line the street. I think the businesses look forward to it [because] it kind of kicks off the beginnings of the tourist season to come.”
Those most excited for the parade, she said, are often the smallest children in the league. Rookie League players are 6-8 years old and Tee Ball players are 4-6 years old.
“I know the little kids get excited every year to have their uniforms and be ready to play. It’s a big deal,” she said. “This is my 10th year in the league and we’ve done it every year, except last year, when it rained. Hopefully, the weather cooperates and it’s just a nice kickoff, getting ready for spring.”
Snelsire said the league continues to push its capital fundraising campaign for a new lighting system on one of the fields. Because the baseball and softball seasons cannot start earlier than April and extend longer than mid-June – because of weather restrictions and the start of playoffs, respectively – the league is looking into the addition of night games to accommodate a growing number of players.
“We’re almost halfway to our goal of raising $50,000, and then we were going to borrow the rest,” she said. “That’s going to be our focus once we get the season started.”
To donate, contact Berlin Little League Vice President of Operations Eric Snelsire at 412-977-3882 or email e.snelsire@gmail.com. For more information, visit www.berlinlittleleague.org.