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Another Successful Opening Day

By goodNewsBanner On April 27, 2023 · Add Comment · In Sports News

Ryan Tokar, Thurmont Little League

The 2023 Spring Season is well under way at Thurmont Little League (TLL). Our five TLL Majors baseball teams kicked off their season by participating in the annual Garel Hauver Memorial Tournament, hosted by Brunswick Little League, on March 25 and 26. Despite heavy rains canceling many of the first day’s games, the weather held off for each team to get in two games over the course of the weekend. This is always a good way to begin the season and get the younger players their first taste of Majors-level competition.

After months of planning, opening day arrived on Saturday, April 1. Unfortunately, soggy weather, once again, forced the cancellation of our morning games and several activities; however, the sun came out eventually and made for a beautiful afternoon to celebrate and play ball. The complex quickly filled up, and everyone began to enjoy a day full of festivities and fun.

President Robbie Nash kicked off the league’s season by, once again, expressing how thankful he was for the tremendous outpouring of support the league receives on a yearly basis. At 11:00 a.m., players from the T-ball and Instructional divisions were introduced, along with their coaches and team moms. The second round of introductions was held at 3:00 p.m. for the Minor, Majors, and Softball programs.

Once again this year, the league held a memorial service for another TLL family member who is no longer with us. Jeff Koenig, who served as a coach for his three sons over the course of many years, passed away in June of 2022 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Jeff was a tremendous baseball talent who starred locally at Mount St. Mary’s University, where he was inducted into their Athletic Hall of Fame. Up until the time of his passing, Jeff had been serving as an assistant coach for the Majors Orioles. He could be found sitting on a bucket in the dugout, chirping at the umpires right up until the very end. TLL is extremely thankful for Jeff’s years of dedication to the league and his presence will be greatly missed. The Koenig family was invited onto the field during the Majors/Minors/Softball ceremony. Jeff’s wife Erin gave a speech, and his sons Brady, Lane, and Riggins were introduced to say the Little League Pledge and throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Sheriff Chuck Jenkins recited the volunteer pledge before wishing all players good luck during the upcoming season.

On hand to throw out the first pitch for the T-ball and Instructional Ceremony were the siblings of Kyle Stine, a former TLL player who passed away from terminal brain cancer in December 2022 at age 14. The league also recognized current Minors player, Logan Smith, who is undergoing his own treatments for lymphoma. All TLL players will wear yellow ribbons on the back of their helmets this season in recognition of childhood cancer awareness in honor of both families and all others who have been impacted by this terrible disease. Several Majors players recited the Little League Pledge during this ceremony, while Umpire-in-Chief Blaine Young led the volunteer pledge. Blaine has been a constant fixture behind the plate and on the TLL Board for many years, so he was the perfect person to handle this responsibility.

Finally, members of the Thurmont Cub Scouts took the field to present the colors before the singing of our National Anthem. This year, it was performed by Thurmont Middle School students, Allie Bryant and Alaina Furry, who each honored our country with a beautiful rendition. Both of these young ladies have siblings who have played baseball at TLL for many years, and they were excited to represent their TLL family. To close the ceremony, Robbie thanked everyone for coming and also recognized the many volunteers and board members who made the event so successful.

After the ceremonies ended, families and players stayed around to enjoy delicious food from Stroker’s BBQ (who sold completely out in just a few short hours), along with ice cream and sandwiches from Glamourview Creamery. They definitely brought a smile to many faces with the size of their cups and cones. And, as always, there were other tasty items from the TLL Concession Stand. The brand-new slushy machine was a big hit among the youngsters in the crowd!

Other highlights of the day included a photo booth, complete with fun photo props; meet and greets with Keyote and The Oriole Bird; and a table of goodies from Woodsboro Bank. Facepainting by Elizabeth was back again, with her usual line stretching across the parking lot. And there was also a bounce house, provided by EBL Inflatables, to keep all the youngsters entertained. All in all, it was a wonderful day, with lots of fun for everyone who took part.

Fundraising is always a big part of the opening day ceremony, and this year continued that trend. The community showed up, once again, to support the league, as the basket raffles, concessions, and spiritwear tables generated over $13,000. People were excited to get their TLL t-shirts, hats, and hoodies and to take a chance at one of the 25 wonderful prizes.

The league would like to thank all the local businesses that donated to our baskets; without this support, we could not have generated the interest and raised the money that we did. To view a full list of donors, please check out the Thurmont Little League page on Facebook.

The next big event will be our hit-a-thon on May 6, which is the largest annual fundraiser for the league and helps to raise money for uniforms, field maintenance, and everything else the league needs to make a great experience for its players and fans. We are hoping to proceed with the fireworks display that was canceled on opening day due to the high winds in the evening. There will also be food trucks onsite. Crazy Dave’s Pizza and Snowball Waterfalls are scheduled for the afternoon.

Be sure to check out the next edition for a recap of that event and for all the other happenings from around TLL.

The Oriole Bird and Keyote greet fans during TLL’s Opening Day ceremony.

Courtesy Photo

Minors Stars Shine Bright

By goodNewsBanner On August 31, 2022 · Add Comment · In Sports News

Ryan Tokar, Thurmont Little League

When we left off in last month’s edition of The Catoctin Banner, the Thurmont Little League (TLL) Minors All Stars were still fighting their way through the Emory Frye Tournament hosted by Brunswick Little League. After stringing together 3 straight victories, the team made it to the Championship game, where for the second year in a row, Thurmont Little League was victorious. They defeated South County in a come-from-behind 7-6 victory on a walk off RBI by Bryce Rickerd. Congratulations to all of the players and their coaches for making TLL proud.

It’s hard to believe it’s that time again, but TLL has just kicked off another fall season. This season saw 185 total registrations. The breakdown for this fall will be 4 t-ball, 5 Instructional (Coach Pitch), 4 Minors, 4 Majors, and 2 softball teams (Minors/Coach Pitch). It is wonderful to see more and more children from the surrounding community coming out to participate and learn the game of baseball. The more relaxed nature of the fall season is the perfect time for new players to get started or existing players to move up to a new level to improve their skills.

Along with a new season, came the election of a new Board of Directors for 2022-2023. TLL would like to welcome Ashley Balsley as the new Vice President of the Softball Division. Ashley spent the last year working as the softball Player Agent and was integral to the successful first year of the program. Other newly elected board members include Hillary Inocencio-Concessions Manager, Carrie Laird and Nicole Tyler-Player Agents, Alex Kline-Field Maintenance, Richard Balsley-Safety Officer, Ryan Tokar-Vice President Majors/Information Officer, Dana Duvall-Vice President Coach Pitch, Rachel Workman-Team Mom Coordinator, Kathy Rickerd-Secretary, and Jessica Kline-Member at Large.

As the new members settle into their roles, we cannot forget to thank our outgoing board members who made so many wonderful contributions to the league over the years. Brandon McQuay, served as a manager as well as Vice President of Majors for several years, he also frequently volunteered his time to umpire behind the plate. Jenn Cregger spent many years as player agent and also helped out with opening day and various other league activities. Jon Barton will be greatly missed as Concessions Manager; he was integral in bringing in favorites such as the Goldrush chicken sandwich and the new popcorn machine. Other outgoing members include Melissa Stidom who served as Vice President of TLL Softball during its inaugural campaign, Mike Smith-Vice President of Intermediate, who was critical in keeping that age level running, Gregg Warner-Player Development, who did an awesome job organizing crucial programs such as our evaluations and various camps for our players, and Kyra Fry-Secretary who always took detailed notes during the often lengthy board meetings. The league is grateful to each of you for your years of service.

TLL has plenty of other events and fun activities planned throughout the fall. Back by popular demand will be the second annual movie night. The date and film have yet to be decided but will be determined based on availability. Players, families, and the community are invited to pull up a chair on the outfield grass and grab a bag of popcorn for a fun evening the whole family will enjoy. And, due to the tremendous success of last year’s event, plans are in the making for another Trunk or Treat at the ball fields. We will again be looking for vendors and businesses who would like to set up. This was an extremely fun event, and the turnout was way more than we could’ve ever imagined. Hopefully, this year’s event will be even bigger and better! For more information, please follow the league on Facebook or visit www.thurmontlittleleague.com.

Minors All-Stars win the Emory Frye Tournament in Brunswick.

Opening Day Draws Huge Crowds

By goodNewsBanner On April 28, 2022 · Add Comment · In Sports News

Ryan Tokar, Thurmont Little League

Baseball is officially back at Thurmont Little League (TLL). The four TLL majors teams kicked off the spring season by participating in the annual Garel Hauver Memorial Tournament, hosted by Brunswick Little League. Despite the frigid temperatures and mixture of wind, rain, and even snow over the course of the two days, each team was able to pick up at least one victory over their competitors. The TLL Angels and Orioles went undefeated on the first day, and both advanced to the semifinals on day two. Both teams fought hard against tough teams from Brunswick, and ultimately, the Orioles would advance to the championship game, where they finally ran out of steam and finished as the overall runner-up. Regardless, it was an extremely impressive achievement, and everyone at TLL was proud of their effort and the way they represented Thurmont Little League.

After months of planning, opening day arrived on Saturday, April 2. After soggy weather forced the cancellation of our games and several activities in 2021, the league was determined to make this year’s celebration bigger and better then ever. Those who attended know that was definitely the case. The complex was full to the brim, with people parking and walking from blocks away to attend the festivities. The day started off with several T-ball teams taking the field for their first games of the season. Despite some windy weather during the first few games of the morning, the sun peeked out for the first time in what seemed like ages and made for a beautiful day to celebrate.

Once the first slate of games were completed, a welcoming address was made by League President Robbie Nash, who kicked off the league’s 71^st season. Robbie expressed how thankful the league was for the tremendous outpouring of support the league receives on a yearly basis. This year was no exception, as TLL had the highest number of registrations ever, at over 330 players. In an effort to help with crowd control due to these massive numbers, the league held dual ceremonies again this year. At 10:00 a.m., players from the T-ball and instructional divisions were introduced, along with their coaches and team moms. The second round of introductions were held at 3:00 p.m. for the minor, majors, and softball programs.

Next up, was a bit of a somber moment, as the league paid tribute to our Chief Safety Officer, Chris Morlan, who passed away in December after a lengthy battle with COVID-19. Chris was an extremely dedicated member of the TLL family, serving on the board for many years and volunteering as a manager at almost every divisional level. He was always there to help out whenever needed at any of the league’s events, from tournaments and parades to our movie nights and trunk or treat. As TLL kicked off a new season, it was hard to envision Chris not being there to be a part of it, and although he may be gone, he will certainly not be forgotten. Every TLL team will wear a special patch on their jersey this year in honor of Coach Chris.

The Morlan family was invited on to the field to line up along the first base line with many of his brothers from local fire departments joining them. President Nash then welcomed two of Chris’s long-time team members, Chase Cregger and Brody McQuay, to lead the players in reciting the Little League pledge. Next, his mother, Gina Morlan, was invited out to lead everyone in the Parent/Volunteer Pledge. Gina has been a fixture in the TLL concession stand for many years and has also helped with several other events, so she was the perfect choice for this responsibility. During the second ceremony, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins recited the pledge before wishing all players good luck during the upcoming season. On hand to throw out the first pitch for both ceremonies were several of Chris’s children. Son, Bodhi Morlan, and daughter, Abby, performed the duties during the first ceremony, while his older sons, Patrick and Nathan, handled the second. Afterwards, the family was presented with a memorial plaque, commemorating Chris and everything he meant to the league.

Finally, members of the Thurmont Cub Scouts took the field to present the colors before the singing of our National Anthem. This year, it was performed by Thurmont Middle School student, Alaina Furry, who honored our country with a beautiful rendition. Alaina has two brothers who have played baseball at TLL for many years, and she was excited to represent the TLL family. To close the ceremony, Robbie thanked everyone for coming and also recognized the many volunteers and board members who made the event so successful.

After the ceremonies, families and players stayed around to enjoy delicious BBQ by The Sauced Savage, who sold completely out by the end of the event. New this year was ice cream and sandwiches from Glamourview Creamery, who brought a smile to many faces with the size of their cups and cones. And, as always, there were other tasty items from the TLL Concession Stand. The brand-new popcorn machine was a big hit among the youngsters in the crowd! Many vendors were on hand throughout the day. Pivot Physical Therapy, Crucible Performance, Thurmont Cub Scouts, Thurmont Library, and CYA Football had tables to provide information about their services.

Other highlights of the day included a photo booth, complete with balloon archway and fun photo props; meet and greets with Keyote and The Oriole Bird; and Facepainting by Elizabeth, who had a line stretching across the parking lot. Additionally, equipment from the Frederick County Sheriff’s office and many local fire and ambulance companies were there for players to explore and get their pictures with. All in all, it was a wonderful day, with lots of fun for everyone who took part.

Fundraising is always a big part of the opening day ceremony, and this year was no exception. The community showed up in a big way to support the league this year, as the basket raffles and spiritwear tables generated over $13,000 for the league. People were excited to get their TLL t-shirts, hats, and hoodies, and to take a chance at one of the 25 wonderful prizes. The Grand Prize was a custom-made Thurmont Little League cornhole set, generously donated by TLL parent and Coach, B.J. Schildt. The winners were Trevor and Meghan Swain. The league would like to thank all the local businesses that donated to our baskets; without this support, we could not have generated the interest and raised the money that we did. To view a full list, please check out the Thurmont Little League page on Facebook.

The next big event will be the hit-a-thon on May 14, which is the largest annual fundraiser for the league and helps to raise money for uniforms, field maintenance, and everything else the league needs to make a great experience for its players and fans.

Be sure to check out the next edition of The Catoctin Banner for a recap of that event and all the other happenings from around the Thurmont Little League.