One local ball association has announced it will cancel its summer baseball season, while other local organizations remain in a holding pattern.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association officially canceled its spring sports season Tuesday, one day after governor Mike Dewine ordered school buildings to stay closed for the rest of the academic year.
Those decisions led to the question of what will happen to the youth baseball and softball seasons.
Lakeview Ball Association acted Tuesday, sharing on social media that it has decided to forgo its summer baseball season. That includes T-ball, coach pitch, Farm League, Little League and Pony League. The statement said the decision was made after coaches got together and decided it was best to go ahead and cancel now.
Lakeview has yet to decide on the fate of its softball season, stating that its coaches would like to wait and hopefully get to a point where it can play some sort of schedule. Two other local associations are choosing to stay in a wait-and-see mode.
Kris Myers, superintendent of the Bellefontaine parks and recreation department said he has not yet ruled out having a summer season, but is waiting for more direction from the state government.
“We remain in a holding pattern,” he said. “I am hoping over the next week or so to get some insight from the state. The governor has laid out a plan to reopen businesses and I am waiting to see if there will be some sort of plan for (youth sports). It might be a different format than we are used to, but I am hoping that we can come up with something if we are allowed.”
Some parents have already decided that they do not feel safe with their sons or daughters playing this summer, and Myers said full refunds will be made if that’s the case.
“If a parent doesn’t feel safe allowing their child to participate, we will certainly give them a full refund,” said Myers. “If a decision is made to completely cancel the season, all those that have paid their fees will be refunded.”
Matt Hull, president of the West Liberty Ball Association, is also holding out hope for a summer campaign.
“We are just waiting as long as we can until we get some direction,” said Hull. “Little League International is using May 11 as a tentative start date, so we are sticking with that for now.”
A statement from the Logan County Baseball Association on Tuesday conveyed a similar approach.
“As of today, we continue to recommend suspension of all baseball related activities through (May 11),” the statement revealed. “We remain hopeful that we can still have a season with a modified schedule. Over the next few weeks, we should have further insight to share.”