Youth in Deer Lake will get a chance to smack around the baseball on home turf this summer.
Deer Lake Minor Baseball Association president Jonathan Andrews is pleased registration numbers have been good enough to feel comfortable about offering baseball to the town’s youth in three different age groups.
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He said there are 80 boys and girls registered for the program and he’s looking forward to seeing youth in the town snagging a few fly balls over the summer.
“We’re moving right ahead with it,” Andrews said Thursday as the sun made its presence known on the west coast to the delight of athletes looking to get on the diamonds.
The plan is to forge ahead in the first season with programs geared toward three age groups. There will be a Blast Ball division for ages 5-7, a rookie setup for those in the 8-9 age group and a mosquito division for boys and girls in the 10-11 age category.
All action will take place on the former softball field known as Bennett Field. That is the only venue available for the program because the town doesn’t have a baseball diamond.
However, Andrews hopes the program will grow over the first couple of years to the point that the Town sees a need to build a regulation baseball field. He knows the Town of Deer Lake wouldn’t want to build a new baseball diamond unless it’s warranted because it’s a fair financial investment, but the former Schwartz Park has been tossed around as the possible site to build a diamond and he’s hopeful the numbers will climb to the point that a new field becomes a reality.
