Friday April 10 is ZLL’s annual Opening Night Ceremony.  This event, which brings together all ZLL and BAGCOZ T-ball teams, kicks off a full weekend of baseball and softball games at the park.  All players and their families are strongly encouraged to attend.  It’s quite a sight to see close to a thousand Little Leaguers and T-ball players on Field 2.

The ceremony begins at 6:00 pm.  Teams are asked to arrive at the park by 5:30.  Parking will be at a premium, so don’t be late!  Teams will assemble on Field 1 (the large field at the NW corner of Lions Park).  There will be signs posted along the inside of the fences of Field 1, which indicate where teams should assemble.

Shortly after 6:00 pm, we will begin the parade of teams onto Field 2.  50/70 and Majors baseball/softball teams will parade first, followed by Minors, Rookies, and T-ball.

After all the teams are on Field 2, the full ceremony will begin.  The ceremony includes an invocation, singing of the national anthem,  awards and recognition, and the ceremonial first pitches.

On Friday evening there will be two baseball games and one softball game played under the lights.  Saturday will feature a full slate of games across the league.

ZLL Team Pictures

The schedule for ZLL team pictures will be available later today.  Look for an additional email and information posted to the ZLL Web site/Facebook/Twitter.

Pictures will be taken in the white shelter house just north of Field 1.  Most teams will have their pictures taken on Saturday before their games.  The schedule generally calls for teams to have their pictures taken so that the team will still have 45 minutes to warm up before their game.  Most teams that are playing on Friday evening or that do not have games on Saturday will have their pictures taken on Friday evening either before or after the Opening Night ceremony.  Ordering pictures will be done on-line this year.  More details about the process will come with the full schedule.

Rainout plans

Although the weather looks favorable for Friday evening, the ZLL Board has developed various alternative schedules for the Opening Night ceremony in case of rain, cold, or flood (Remember 2013!).  We intend to have the ceremony as soon as practical.  Generally, the alternatives are:

• Plan A:  Opening Night Ceremony and games as described above
• Plan B:  Opening Night Ceremony at 6:00 PM on Friday as described above, but no games on Friday due to weather/field conditions.  Games would be rescheduled during the season. Pictures as scheduled Friday and Saturday.
• Plan C:  Everything postponed on Friday.  Opening Night Ceremony postponed to 9:00 AM on Saturday morning, and Saturday game start times pushed back by 1 hour.  Picture schedule adjusted to accommodate game time changes.
• Plan D:  Everything postponed on Friday and Saturday morning.  Opening Night Ceremony postponed to Friday April 17 at 6:00 pm.  A decision about pictures will be made at that time.

Don’t sweat the details on these alternative plans just yet.  Just repeat to yourself “Friday’s weather will be fine.  Friday’s weather will be fine.”