Play Ball!
The fields have been groomed, the lines have been drawn and the equipment dusted off around the area as youth baseball and softball leagues kick off this weekend.
Anyone interested in checking out some of the action or taking in Opening Day festivities has a buffet to choose from throughout Franklin County.
Here is a look at the area leagues and their Opening Day festivities:
Greenfield Girls Softball League
The GGSL was supposed to open this past weekend but Mother Nature threw a curveball into those plans and caused the festivities to be rained out. While games are getting underway this week, the league will hold its Opening Day on Saturday beginning at 11:30 a.m. with a parade from Valley Medical to Murphy Park in Greenfield.
The parade will be followed by Opening Ceremonies at noon and games will be played at 1 and 3 p.m.
Frontier Cal Ripken
The five towns of Conway, Deerfield, Hatfield, Sunderland and Whately will celebrate Opening Day for the Frontier Cal Ripken Youth League Saturday morning at Herlihy Field in Whately.
The Parade of Teams will take place at the field (from the soccer field to the baseball diamond) and Opening Ceremonies will run from 10 to 11 a.m. The event will feature United States Marine Corps Retired Sergeant Daniel Clark, who is nationally known as “The Singing Trooper.” Clark has performed at Fenway Park during the 2013 World Series, with the Boston Pops and with former president and first lady George and Barbara Bush.
“Our goal for opening day is to make the day and the sport of baseball as memorable as possible for our players and their families,” league president Jon Edwards said. “The Singing Trooper brings energy and excitement to a day that kicks off the opening of youth baseball in the five towns.”
Games begin at noon throughout the five towns and will last until 7 p.m.
Tri-County Softball League
The Tri-County Softball League opens its season Saturday morning at Pratt Field in Bernardston.
The league will hold a parade at the field from 9:30 until 10 a.m. and games will take place at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Greenfield Minor League
The Greenfield Minor League unveils its brand new “Mini-Fenway” field at Lunt Field in Greenfield, which continues to house the three ball fields used by the league. Last year, with Mini-Fenway under construction, the league was forced to use other area fields, so the return of all games to Lunt Field will be welcome.
The league gets underway Sunday morning at 10 a.m. with its annual parade from Greenfield Middle School down Federal Street and to Lunt. The parade will be led by a police cruiser, will feature the Greenfield High School drumline, and will end with a fire truck.
Opening Ceremonies will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will include grand marshall Scott Cote, who is a former coach in the league, and also helped secure the 99-year lease the league has with the town to use Lunt Field, as well as helping with the construction of the new Mini-Fenway.
The first game played on Mini-Fenway will begin at noon and feature Major Division teams Gilmore & Farrell facing off against Maniatty Real Estate. Games on all three fields will take place at 2:30 and 5 as well.
Newt Guilbault
The Newt Guilbault Community League will begin its season Sunday morning at 11 a.m. with the annual parade from Turners Falls High School up Montague Street to Gamelin and Campbell Fields at Sheffield School.
Opening Ceremonies will begin immediately after the parade and will include the singing of the National Anthem, as well as the ceremonial first pitch, which will be thrown out by last year’s Collins Award winner, Deven Emond.
Games will be played at 1 and 3 p.m.