By STEPHANIE BUNKER
Moapa Valley Progress
They say baseball is America’s favorite sport. It is certainly a favorite in Moapa Valley. Families in the local community stepped up to the plate to support it last week in a big way.
Moapa Valley Little League (MVLL) kicked off its season with the Opening Ceremony on Saturday, March 18. Teams gathered at the Logandale Baseball Complex to celebrate the American sport of baseball.
MVLL secretary Teresa Briggs began the ceremony by introducing the 35 teams, and roughly 375 kids, taking part in the sport this season. Each player had the chance to walk across the field and stand among their team members.
Boy Scouts from a local troop directed the flag ceremony and Sara Mills sang the National Anthem as the large crowd paid their respects to their country.
Logandale resident and Moapa Valley Town Advisory Board Chairman Gene Houston threw the first pitch to his grandson Chance who caught the ball while the crowd cheered.
Then they were ready to play some baseball!
The games began at 10:00 am with four teams playing every hour all day until 5:00 pm. Not every team got the chance to play due to time restraints and scheduling.
“We have a hard time scheduling all the teams on the two fields we have,” said MVLL Board member Sarah Wadsworth. “We really could use two more fields to help things run smoothly.”
Little League takes much support from the community. There are, at the least, 60 volunteers helping to give the kids a chance to participate in the game.
Mike Lacy is the Vice President of the baseball league and coaching the Dodgers in the Major league. Lacy admires the game of baseball and what it does for the players. “It teaches the team to work, get along, and how to have patience,” Lacy said. “They learn that sometimes you win or lose but they learn what they can do to be better.”
Logandale resident Prentice Freeman is helping his kids’ team this season, he said, “It teaches them hard work and dedication and they can see the payoff.”
Mikayla Wadsworth a 3rd baseman is playing her last year of Little League Softball before she goes to high school next year. She has been playing Little League here since the 4th grade and is grateful for the experience.
“Now I will know how to play for the high school team,” she said.
