The ground was wet, following the white coating that graced the region the day before, but the sun was making its way through the cool air as Ryan Rauschenbach and fellow Wallkill Area Little Leaguers gathered Saturday morning for the season’s opening ceremonies on the softball field.

“I just like baseball,” said Rauschenbach, “and it’s really fun.”
Rauschenbach, a 12-year-old in the major league, was in his uniform, ready to play in a game after the morning ceremony. He was an all-star a year ago, and the postseason ended the pair of losses in the district tournament.

Rauschenbach will play for the Blue major league team this spring, and he senses that from preseason practice so far, his team is ready for the new season with some needed fielding improvements.

“We’re doing pretty good,” he said.

The ceremonies followed a parade through the hamlet that led to the Little League complex. Ed Darrow, president of Wallkill Area Little League and other league volunteers, were waiting for the parade to arrive after getting the complex ready for opening day.

The season opens with the girls’ junior softball team as the defending 2018 District 19 champions. The league also opened its season with 320 players, up a fraction from 315 that were registered to play in 2018.

But that is nearly half of the 600 players that once played in league many years ago. Nearby at a field, which is part of Wallkill High School athletic complex, a young boys’ lacrosse game was being played.

High school baseball coaches bemoan that lacrosse is pulling players away from their sport, something Darrow agrees with. But there are also spring soccer leagues and travel baseball and softball teams, Darrow noted, that pull players way from Little League baseball.

As participation remains nearly flat here, community involvement has continued to grow. In 2014, the league had 15 sponsors. Five years later that number has grown to 77 sponsors that display their logos on fencing throughout the complex.

“Sponsorship is good,” said Darrow.