LOCAL SPORTS: Jud Field Hosts a Fun Night of T-Ball

by Jake DeLuca

Jud Field was host to a double header of T-ball games Tuesday night for one the last times this season, as there is only one game left for the year.

Tuesday night, June 14, saw the Dodgers and the Pirates face off, as well as the Orioles and Reds.

T-ball is all about learning the basics of baseball, and for a lot of these kids it is their first chance to learn the game.

“For T-ball you keep it pretty basic. If they get the ball on the field, you just have them throw to first every time, we don’t worry about forced outs at bases. We keep it at the very basics: hitting, fielding, and throwing to first” said Dodgers manager Robert Boarts.

Since this is the first time playing for a lot of these kids, the rules have to be simple and fair for everyone.

“With T-ball, every kid gets to bat a round. There are no outs, no scoring, it’s more of a learning experience. We play for an hour and we can usually get around three innings in, but it depends on the day. It’s an hour and usually the next team is here to play their game,” Boarts said.

Shannon Johns was in charge of the concession stand for the first game of the double header, and after the game her daughter Elizabeth stopped by to lend a helping hand. Elizabeth played for the Dodgers last year, but this year she played for the Pirates.

“Elizabeth loves playing, except she gets a little bit sweaty when she runs and she’s not too sure if she likes that.” Luckily the bottles that are provided to the players have a spray mechanism on the end to help players cool off, which Elizabeth said helps out!

With only one game left in the season, it can kind of seem surreal how fast it goes by. Emotions go both ways - some happy the season is over, and some wish it could stay around a little longer.

“I’m kind of sad to see it go (the season), because you see the kids get better every week and then you have to wait a whole year before they play again. At that point, they forget most of what they learned from this season,” said Boarts.

The last game of the season is on Thursday, June 16^th. For more information on T-ball or the Kittanning Little League, visit www.kllb.org.

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