Cornwall Little Leaguers will march from Town Hall to Ed Doty Field at 9 a.m. on April 11. They’ll form an arc around the infield at 9:30 a.m. and listen to the opening day speeches. But as March came to an end, there was one lingering question — Would the kids get to play when the ceremony was over?
It’s been a tradition for Little Leaguers to play on Opening Day, but the long winter could force some games to be rescheduled. Little League President John Carnright is trying to remain optimistic.
“I think we’ll be ready to go,” he said. “I feel confident we’ll have our organizational and administrative stuff done. We’ll just have to cross our fingers. If the fields are going to go through the normal progression and do some drying and the frost gets out of there we should be okay. What would be really bad is if we have any big downpours. You try to get clay in place and it’s almost saturated now to begin with. We’ll be on the lookout for storms and try to divert or prevent runoff and channeling so we don’t get all of our top material carried away. We’re hoping for some good drying days.”
This year marks the 65th anniversary of the Cornwall Little League. Carnright expects to have about 520 boys and girls, ages 5 to 17, signed up this year, in line with last year’s numbers. The league has over 200 volunteers.
The 2015 season unofficially began in the fall as volunteers worked on fields by putting down grass seed and fertilizer, repairing equipment, reorganizing the Board of Directors for the coming season, applying for a Little League charter and insurance, preparing financial reports, and conducting equipment inventory.
The extended winter weather has made it difficult for volunteers to prep the fields for game play. Each season the infield clay must be replaced. During the late fall/early winter, some of it is dislodged and moved off fields during storms. The clay is replenished and a roller used to remove any clumps.
Warm weather is necessary to dry the fields and allow the grass to green and grow. Otherwise play could cause further damage. That’s something the Board of Directors will watch for in the next couple of weeks.
Carnright said there have been seasons when games had to be postponed due to field conditions. High ground water on the senior field resulted in the alteration of the schedule until the water drained enough to put teams on the field.
Should the season not start on time, the league will double up games and even schedule Sunday afternoon games. Carnright said the league tries to schedule 16 regular season games per team. Those must end by the first week in June, when tournament play begins and all-star teams start practicing together.
The off-season has been equally difficult for the players with a lack of practice time on the field. However, a 10-week clinic was held, over the winter, in the New York Military Academy gymnasium. Coaches were on hand for individual instruction.
