Volunteers shovel dirt into a golf cart to transport to areas of Gault Field in need of maintenance. “We’re taking care of our house,” Aaron Ruppe, left, said. Joining him, to his right, are Chase Ruppe and Alena Gibas.
Volunteers, from left, Brandon Conway, Pat Bowman, Heath Ivers and Dan Lothspeich measure the distance between the pitcher’s mound and the batter’s box in order to make sure the batting cage is up to specifications. Local help like them made the field ready for Little League season.
Storage garages were cleaned out and supplies made ready last Saturday morning in preparation of Canyon Lake Little League’s Opening Day tomorrow.
Volunteers work on home plate in preparation for the opening of the Canyon Lake Little League season tomorrow.
LL fields ready for Opening Day
Volunteers, from left, Brandon Conway, Pat Bowman, Heath Ivers and Dan Lothspeich measure the distance between the pitcher’s mound and the batter’s box in order to make sure the batting cage is up to specifications. Local help like them made the field ready for Little League season.
Gault Field is now ready for Opening Day. “Field Cleanup Day” for Canyon Lake Little League brought players, moms, dads, coaches and friends to the Canyon Lake baseball fields Saturday morning to prepare the fields for the season.
Much more than just mowed lawns and a shiny flagpole were gained at this cleanup day. Everything that had to do with the specifications of the field for baseball were addressed. Maintenance of the baseball diamond was top of the agenda. The area around home plate and the pitcher’s mound were tamped down and leveled so that play would be fair and make the game as enjoyable as possible for the players.
“If the pitcher’s mound is uneven, it will throw off the pitcher’s throw,” according to Canyon Lake Little League president, Marcos Frias. “If the pitcher’s mound is level, it gives the pitcher a better chance of throwing a ‘strike’ rather than a ‘ball’.” If the area around home plate is level and at the proper slope, the catcher and batter can play the game at their highest potential.
Other parts of the field also received some necessary upkeep to endure the coming season. Even though just for practice, the dugouts were tamped down and levelled. The batting cage was brought up to standards, with the distance between the pitcher’s mound and home plate set at regulation measurement. Storage garages were emptied out, cleaned and neatly filled back up.
Little League practices started the first week of February and culminate this weekend with Friday Night Lights starting tonight at 6:00 p.m.
Tomorrow, Opening Day gets kicked off with a pancake breakfast at 8:00 a.m. Opening ceremonies are at 9:45 a.m. and the games begin at 11:00 a.m. The two highest ranking teams, the Diamondbacks and Pirates, will go head to head.
Little League season lasts through May 16. Upper divisions continue with post-season tournaments and all-star games into June and July. Canyon Lake Little League teams have not yet made it to the World Series, but league president Marcos said they have gotten close. Maybe this year will be the season.