Final Decision on Composite Bats

Little League International Issues Update Regarding Composite Bats: Moratorium Imposed Immediately

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (Dec. 30, 2010) - Little League International has placed a moratorium on the use of composite bats in the Little League (Majors) Division and all other baseball divisions of Little League, effective immediately.

"Today's decision of the Little League International Board of Directors Executive Committee is based on scientific research data from the University of Massachusetts (Lowell), which was contracted by Little League Baseball," Stephen D. Keener, President and Chief Executive Officer of Little League Baseball and Softball, said. "The maximum performance standard for non-wood bats in the divisions for 12-year-olds and below is a Bat Performance Factor (BPF) of 1.15. The research found that composite bats, while they may meet the standard when new, can exceed that standard after a break-in process."

Local Little Leagues were first informed of the research last September.

"From the beginning, and throughout this process, we wanted to keep everyone informed," Patrick W. Wilson, Vice President of Operations at Little League International, said. "Our intent was to provide local league constituents clear direction regarding composite bats. There is a process through which manufacturers can submit individual models for a possible waiver if they wish to seek it. Going forward, we will let our leagues know which ones meet the standards for the Little League Baseball (Majors) 12-and-under divisions, if any."

On Sept. 1, Little League International placed a moratorium on composite bats in the Junior, Senior, and Big League Baseball Divisions of Little League. Subsequent to that moratorium, some composite bat models have received a waiver and may be used in those divisions. Information on the composite bats that have received waivers for the Junior, Senior, and Big League Baseball Divisions of Little League may be found here:

http://www.littleleague.org/learn/equipment/approvedcompbats.htm

At present, no composite bats for the Little League (Majors) Division and below have received a waiver. If and when any models do receive a waiver, Little League International will inform its leagues of that decision.

The moratorium on composite bats, which now applies to all baseball divisions of Little League, does not apply to any softball divisions of Little League.

Sincerely,
Little League International

Update on Composite Bats

Little League International has asked us to forward this letter to our families:

November 29, 2010

Dear Little League Parents and Volunteers,

With the holiday shopping season upon us, we want to remind all that we are in the midst of a research effort with the University of Massachusetts (Lowell) to determine whether or not a moratorium will be placed on the use of composite 2¼-inch barreled baseball bats in the Little League Majors Division and below. We have already placed a moratorium on composite bats in the Junior League Baseball, Senior League Baseball, and Big League Baseball Divisions.

We anticipate making a decision on the use of composite 2¼-inch barreled baseball bats by Jan. 1, 2011, as promised in earlier communications on this subject.

Information on the moratorium on composite bats in the Junior League Baseball, Senior League Baseball, and Big League Baseball Divisions, as well as information on specific models of composite bats that have received a waiver of that moratorium, can be found here: http://www.littleleague.org/media/newsarchive/2010/Sep-Dec/StatementFromLLCompositeBats.htm

We encourage local league officials to provide this message to parents and volunteers in the local league.

Sincerely,
Little League International

Good Luck in the State Football Finals

Southern Little League would like to wish Grand Rapids Catholic Central, East Grand Rapids and our cross town rivals West Catholic good luck in this weekend’s state football finals. Bring home that trophy! From all of us at Southern, congratulations to all of the fall athletes on a great season.

A Note to Santa Claus: No Composite Bats

Dear Santa:

Please be aware that Little League International has made a significant rule change that may affect your Christmas list this year. Specifically, starting in the 2011 season, composite bats will no longer be allowed in the Junior, Senior, or Big League divisions. So if someone on your "nice list" was asking for a composite bat for Christmas, please be aware that it cannot be used in Little League games.

If you're curious, you can peruse the other rule changes on their website.

Umpires: New Electronic Sign-Up Policy

Umpires: effective immediately, 80 to 100 percent of our game sign-ups will be handled electronically. So you don't miss any umpiring opportunities, we're asking you to do two things right away:

• Sign up to receive insider emails. By doing this, you'll get email notices that are targeted to umpires and other volunteers at Southern. Click here to sign up for insider emails.
• Sign up to receive text messages from Jim. Any time Jim needs an umpire, he sends a text message to all those who have signed up to get them. It's super easy to sign up. Click here.

Please take a moment today to sign up for both these if you can.

Parents: Pick Up Your Summer Baseball Photos

We still have some photos that were not picked up during the summer baseball season. You can pick these up at the concession stand on Sun-19-Sep or Sun-26-Sep from 12:30pm to 4:00pm. Here are the photos we still have:

David Wynbeck
Zach Lundell
David DeVries
Kevin Brown
Benjamin Cole
Nick Hollern
Brevin Gansevoort
Deshawn Dykhouse
EJ Sullivan
Teddy Russo

Coaches: Equipment Pick-up

Coaches: Please pick up your Fall Ball equipment Sun-12-Sep from noon to 2pm.

Also, any coaches who have yet to turn in your equipment and are not coaching Fall Ball: This is your last chance to turn in your equipment. If you cannot make it during that time slot, please make arrangements for someone else on your team to be there during this final time slot.

Questions? contact Steve Bender: launchllc@gmail.com

Umpire Reminder

Hey umps, don't forget to sign up on Twitter to follow Jamie Kuhlman (our umpire in charge) to make sure you get the latest info on umpire schedules, uniforms and training. It's super easy to do. Just click here and follow the instructions.

Fall Ball Juniors Schedule

• The home team and will occupy the 3rd base dugout.
• All teams will play a double header on either 12-Sep or 19-Sep.
• Fall Ball Directors - Bob Hams: 633-5495 or Ethan Rohen: 318-4647
• No standings will be kept for Fall Ball.
• No inning shall start later than 15 minutes prior to the start of the next game.
• The last game of the day, no inning shall start after one hour 45 minutes.
• To view this document on its own or to print or download it, click here.

Fall Ball Majors Schedule

• The home team and will occupy the 3rd base dugout.
• All teams will play a double header on either 12-Sep or 19-Sep.
• Fall Ball Directors - Bob Hams: 633-5495 or Ethan Rohen: 318-4647
• No standings will be kept for Fall Ball.
• No inning shall start later than 15 minutes prior to the start of the next game.
• The last game of the day, no inning shall start after one hour 45 minutes.
• To view this document on its own or to print or download it, click here.

Fall Ball Minors Schedule

• The home team and will occupy the 3rd base dugout.
• All teams will play a double header on either 12-Sep or 19-Sep.
• Fall Ball Directors - Bob Hams: 633-5495 or Ethan Rohen: 318-4647
• No standings will be kept for Fall Ball.
• No inning shall start later than 15 minutes prior to the start of the next game.
• The last game of the day, no inning shall start after one hour 45 minutes.
• To view this document on its own or to print or download it, click here.

Fall Ball Juniors Rosters

Here are the rosters for the 2010 Fall Ball Juniors (12-14 year-old) teams. To view this document on its own or to print or download it, click here.

Fall Ball Majors Rosters

Here are the rosters for the 2010 Fall Ball Majors (10-11 year-old) teams. To view this document on its own or to print or download it, click here.

Fall Ball Minors Rosters

Here are the rosters for the 2010 Fall Ball Minors (7-9 year-old) teams. To view this document on its own or to print or download it, click here.

Fall Ball is Filling Up Fast

Fall Ball teams are already full in both younger divisions. The only spots that remain open are for those who will be moving to the big field next year: 12 and 13 year olds. Please do not try to sign up for younger ages as No spots are open at this time.

Click here to sign up online. Click here to read more details about Fall Baseball.

Fall Ball will Begin Sun-12-Sep

Fall baseball will not begin Sun-29-Aug as originally planned. Rather, it has been postponed two weeks and will begin the Sunday after Labor Day, Sun-12-Sep. This gives us time to finalize sign-ups, rosters, coaches and schedules. The season will still be eight games long, with each team playing a doubleheader one Sunday.

This also gives us time to extend the signup deadline to Sat-28-Aug. Click here to sign up online. Click here to read more details about Fall Baseball.

Fall Baseball T-Shirt Contest Results

Congratulations to Josie VanderLei for winning the fall baseball t-shirt design contest. Josie wins a $25 gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings!

And don't forget that Wed-25-Aug is the last day to sign up for fall baseball. Click here to sign up online. Click here to read more details about Fall Baseball.

Register Now for Fall Ball

It's time to think about Fall Ball again!

• Fall baseball will be for ages 8-14. Please use the player's age as of April 30, 2011.
• This is a fun and instructional season. There are no practices, and we don't keep standings.
• The 8-10 age group and the 11-12 age group will play on the East and West small fields. Ages 13-14 will play on the Henwood big field. Please note that if you played as a 12-year-old in the majors this Summer, you will play as a 13-year-old on the big field this Fall as preparation for next season.
• The season will start on September 12 and continue for 7 weeks, with the final games on October 24. Each team will play a doubleheader one Sunday, for a total of eight games.
  
• All games will be played on Sunday afternoons at 1:00pm and 3:00pm, with some games at 5:00pm only if required by the number of teams.
• The cost has been reduced to $60 this year and includes a jersey you can keep. This fee helps us cover the costs of umpires, baseballs, etc.
• Be sure to take a look at our fall baseball t-shirt design contest here.
• You can sign up online here. To help us organize teams, recruit coaches and order shirts, we ask that you please sign up online as soon as possible. The final day of online registration has been extended to Sat-28-Aug.
  
• If you have any questions contact:
  Bob Hams, league director (director@southernll.org)
  
• We need coaches! Please contact Bob if you are interested in coaching. (No full teams will be allowed this year so we can achieve an even comptetitve balance.)

Fall Ball T-shirt Contest!

This year we're having a contest to design the fall baseball t-shirts.

• The winner receives a $25 gift certificate to Buffalo Wild Wings.
• Contest is open to everyone, not just players.
• Your design should include the words "Southern Little League" and "Fall Baseball" on it.
• Email your design entry to director@southernll.org.
• The deadline is 11:59pm on August 15.

9-10 Baseball All-Stars Wrap Up Their Season

In a game that mattered only for pride, Southern's 9-10 East Baseball All-Stars played a game last night that showed they still had plenty. Monday night they lost 4-2 to pool champion West Portage in the state tournament in Schoolcraft. Hard-hitting West Portage had scored 23 runs in their two previous pool games, but Southern's pitchers Kevin Korte and Jake Hoppman with help from catchers Jacob Elzinga and Colin Beggs combined to hold them to just four runs. Mike Malewitz, Noah Groen and Jack Tietema turned the game's only double play to save a run, and Elliot Jung made another run-saving catch in right field. Offensively, Southern's Mike Malewitz led the charge with two doubles, and Jake Hoppman added another. Coaches Dan Tietema and Jeff Hoppman set a great example of sportsmanship and class in the face of a controversial call at home plate that after minutes of appeal and debate ended up against Southern. Any loss is tough, but Southern's 9-10 All-Stars played with such class and ended their season with pride.

Coaches, parents, grandparents and all the loyal Southern fans are proud of these players and their great season. Thanks especially to coaches Dan Tietema and Jeff Hoppman and to all the dedicated parents who contributed in so many ways to make this all-star experience one these kids will never forget. You can bet this isn't the last time these kids will be playing in all-star tournaments.

Coaches: Final Equipment Return Thu-5-Aug

Attention all coaches:

Please return all remaining equipment on the final equipment return date:

• Thu-5-Aug, 7:00pm

We really need the equipment in by then to prepare for fall baseball.
If you have any questions, please contact Steve Bender, our equipment manager:

• 780-8048
• launchllc@gmail.com

9-10 Baseball All-Stars Lose Game 2

Southern's 9-10 East Baseball All-Stars lost a 3-1 heartbreaker to Traverse City today in the state tournament in Schoolcraft. Despite two doubles from Mike Malewitz, five innings of shutout pitching from Connor Goulet and Elliot Jung, solid hitting, and great fan support, Traverse City staged a two-out, three-run comeback in the sixth inning. Southern still has one more game of pool play tomorrow at 6:00pm against West Portage.

9-10 Baseball All-Stars Lose Game 1

Southern's 9-10 East Baseball All-Stars coached by Dan Tietema and Jeff Hoppman lost to Midland today in the state tournament in Schoolcraft. It took six pitchers to get through the game, and despite a huge double by Elliot Jung, the team lost 13-3. They look forward to bouncing back against Traverse City in game two of pool play Sunday at 1:00pm in Schoolcraft.

Seniors All-Stars Bow Out

Southern's Seniors Baseball All-Stars lost their semifinal game of the state tournament against a tough Midland team. The final score was 13-6, but the game was much closer until the very end.

They finished up in third place in the state. Their parents, fans and the entire league are proud of all 16 players. A huge thanks to coaches Bernie Malewitz, Steve Kraai and Steve Lewis. This has been a great experience that no one will forget. Congratulations to everyone on a fantastic season. You did Southern proud!

Seniors All-Stars Win Game 3

Southern's Seniors Baseball All-Stars won their final game of pool play in the state tournament against Iron Mountain Friday by a score of 13-3. Joe Craven pitched a complete game gem. He was backed by perfect defense, including three double plays. Mike Priest started two of the double plays, and Jamo Karsten made a nice diving catch at second base. The win puts them in the semifinals Saturday at noon against Midland.

Seniors All-Stars Win Game 2

Southern's Seniors Baseball All-Stars won their second game of pool play in the state tournament against Cheboygan by a score of 11-3. Wes Vaughn pitched a complete game two-hitter. Mike Priest had four RBIs. Jake Lewis had an RBI triple. The team combined for 14 hits. They play Iron Mountain Friday at noon in the final pool game. They must win to get in to final four on Saturday.

Seniors All-Stars Lose Game 1

Southern's Seniors Baseball All-Stars lost their first game of pool play in the state tournament against Saginaw North by a score of 14-4. After a disappointing start, they look to bounce back against Cheboygan who also lost their first game. The game takes place Thursday 1t 3:00pm at Northwood University in Midland.

Congratulations 9-10 East Baseball All-Stars

After a commanding 7-1 victory over Georgetown at Southern on Tuesday night, Southern's 9-10 East Baseball All-Stars coached by Dan Tietema and Jeff Hoppman defeated a tough Rockford team last night 8-6 to win Southern's first ever 9-10 Baseball All-Star District 9 Championship. The team now moves on to the state tournament.

Congratulations and best of luck, Southern!

Congratulations Seniors Baseball All-Stars

On Tuesday night at Southern, Will Zawacki's extra-inning, walk-off home run against a tough Pinery Park team gave Southern's Seniors Baseball All-Stars the 3-2 win and the District 9 Championship. Congratulations to the team and to Coaches Bernie Malewitz and Steve Kraai.

Now on to the state tournament. Go Southern!

Congratulations Juniors West Baseball All-Stars

A.J. Zawacki's clutch RBI single in the bottom of the 7th gave Southern's Juniors West Baseball All-Stars a dramatic come-from-behind 10-9 win on Tuesday night at Southern in their semifinal game against Holland. The team came up short in the District 9 Championship Wednesday night against Northwestern, taking home the runner-up trophy. Congratulations to the players and to coach Zach Lewis on a great all-star run!

Big Games at Southern Tonight

Tuesday night three of Southern's all-star teams play in their quest for district championships.

• After a 7-6 victory over a tough Zeeland team last night, the Seniors Baseball All-Stars coached by Bernie Malewitz, Steve Kraai and Steve Lewis take on Pinery Park for the District 9 Championship at 5:30pm at Southern.
• At 7:30pm, immediately following the Seniors game, Southern's Juniors West Baseball All-Stars coached by Zach Lewis take on Holland in a semifinal game. Southern beat Pinery Park 6-1 last night in the quarterfinal match-up.
• Southern's 9-10 East Baseball All-Stars coached by Dan Tietema and Jeff Hoppman defeated Grandville last night 9-6. They play against Georgetown tonight for a spot in Wednesday night's District 9 Championship. Tonight's game is at 6:00pm at Southern.

Come on out tonight and cheer for your Southern all-stars!

Congratulations to Southern's 11-Year-Old All-Stars

Southern's 11-Year-Old All-Star team took the runner-up spot in their pool in the district tournament, finally losing to Hudsonville. Congratulations to the players and to coaches Matt Sullivan and David Southwell on a great run!

Congratulations Juniors Baseball Class E Team Tournament Champions!

Congratulations to Coach Vaughn's team in juniors baseball. They won the class E district team tournament.

Fall Baseball is Coming Soon

We are planning another season of Fall Baseball. You can expect another announcement once the all-star tournaments conclude around the beginning of August with more details. Stay tuned!

Tonight at Pinery Park

• Southern East Majors All-Stars vs Northeastern at 5:30pm (1st pool championship game). If Southern wins they advance to next round.
• Southern West Majors All-Stars vs Pinery at 7:30pm (1st pool championship game). Southern has to beat Pinery twice to advance.

Go support your Major All-Stars at Pinery Park tonight.

4th of July - Southern Style

A group of players and families from all of Southern's different schools worked to create a float for this year's 4th of July parade in East Grand Rapids. It even played "Take Me Out to the Ball Game!" Nice job, everybody!

Congratulations Seniors All-Stars

Manager: Bernie Malewitz
Coach: Steve Kraai
Coach: Steve Lewis
Joe Buth
Peter Buth
Joe Craven
Sam Eldersveld
James Karsten
Travis Kraai
Jake Lewis
Joe Malewitz
Zach Malewitz
Michael Priest
Brent Primus
Alec Rossi
Kevin Vicari
Wes Vaughn
David Warners
Will Zawacki

Congratulations Juniors West All-Stars

Manager: Zach Lewis
Austin Batka
Chris Collins
Zac Corell
Tommy Doles
Alex Hicks
Alec Hollen
Austin Huizenga
Sam Jansen
Sam Kuiper
Noah Salasky
Bower Snedeker
Adam Warners
AJ Zawacki

Congratulations Juniors East All-Stars

Manager: Keith VanScoyk
Tim Blewett
Sam Boeve
Collin Burns
Joe Farrington
Stephen Gillespie
Rylan Jaglowski
Tre Poe
Brock Pogodzinski
Jacob Rabideau
Mitchell Sayfie
Josh Stuyfzand
Ben VanScoyk
Sam Vaughn
Kyle Vulpetti

Lots of Action at Southern on Mon-5-Jul

We have a great lineup of all-star and team tournament games slated for Monday at Southern:

• Our two majors baseball all-star teams kick off their tournament play on the east field. Southern's Majors West All-Stars play at 5:30pm, followed by the Majors East All-Stars at 7:30pm.
• Meanwhile on the Henwood field, Coach Malewitz's Class A Seniors team begins their team tournament at 5:30pm.
• Then at 7:30pm, Southern's two undefeated Class A Juniors teams (Lewis and VanScoyk) square off in team tournament play. 

We won't have any fireworks, but we will be firing up the grill! So come on out and cap off your holiday weekend by cheering on your Southern tournament teams!

Congratulations, Coach Olsson's Team!

Congratulations to the District 9 Champions in Majors Baseball, Class E. Thanks to Exclusive Garbage for sponsoring Coach Olsson's team.

Team Tournament Games Tonight at Southern

Coach Olsson's team plays tonight for the District 9 Team Tournament crown in Majors Class E. Meanwhile, Coach Ward's team plays a semifinal game tonight in Class I. Both games take place at 6:00pm at Southern, so come on out, enjoy the nice weather, and cheer on your Southern Little League teams!

If you have a big tournament game coming up and you'd like us to make an announcement like this one, just email the webmaster.

East GR Baseball Clinic

• Taught by East GR Varsity Baseball Coach Chris LaMange and East GR Varsity Players 
• Players entering grades 3-7  July 12 - 16 9:00 am - 11:00 am
• Players entering grades 7-9  July 19 - 23 9:00 am - 11:00 am
• Contact East GR Recreation Dept. at 949-1750 to sign up

Equipment Return Clarification

Parents, please note that all player equipment should be returned to your child's coach and not to Southern directly. Once the coach has all the players' equipment, then the coach will turn it all in on one of the announced equipment return dates.

Big League Schedules Now Available

You can view, download or print the 2010 schedules for Big League baseball from our Schedules page.

USA Baseball National Team Identification Series

Please take a look at their flyer here.

All Games for Fri-18-Jun are Canceled

The weather started getting rough....

Majors Baseball Team Tournament Assignments

Southern's baseball majors teams have been assigned to the following brackets in the District 9 team tournaments:

Class A: Sullivan (Southern 1)
Class A: Henkey (Southern 2)
Class B: Markham
Class C: Campbell/Norton
Class D: Vandenberg
Class E: Olsson
Class F: Vulpetti
Class G: Combs
Class H: O’Connor
Class I: Ward (Southern 1)
Class I: Southwell (Southern 2)
Class J: Antonini

You can track Southern's teams in the district brackets on the District 9 website here. We encourage you to come out for Southern's home tournament games. Remember, we do not notify our subscribers of schedule changes or weather cancellations for tournament games.

Good luck to all of Southern's teams!

Tournament Season: Maps and Directions Now Available

With team and all-star tournaments getting underway, we have posted some useful maps and directions to the away fields. Look for the link on the right side bar: Directions to Away Fields.

Final Pairings for Juniors Baseball

The juniors baseball schedule now shows the pairings for the final two sets of games. The pairings were based on the standings as of Mon-14-Jun. The tie for second place was broken by the most average runs scored. Click here to see the updated schedule.

Congratulations Majors East All-Stars

Manager: Rob Henkey
Coach: Chris Norton
Brendan Boman
Sean Campbell
Mike Clifford
Bryce Henkey
Will Kortz
Jack Liszewski
Sam McCulloch
Jacob O'Donovan
Jon Olsson
Brendan Oosse
Jim Vandyke
Jonathan Winkle

Congratulations Majors West All-Stars

Manager: Mark Warners
Coach: Scott Markham
Tommy Alkema
Brennan Burke
Alex Jennings
Zach Markham
Justin Miller
Jack Norton
Quinton O'Connor
Tristan Ogdahl
Mark Primus
Harrison Rohen
Jack VanGessell
Emmitt Warners

Congratulations 11-Year-Old All-Stars

Manager: Matt Sullivan
Coach: Dave Southwell
Will Berglund
Ben Burrows
Caleb Correll
Jack Foy
Josh Rabideau
Jackson Reid
Teddy Russo
Easton Schultz
Johnny Southwell
EJ Sullivan
Ethan Tellier
Andrew Vernum

Congratulations 9/10 East All-Stars

Manager: Dan Tietema
Coach: Jeff Hoppman
Colin Beggs
Henry Breems
Jacob Elzinga
Connor Goulet
Noah Groen
Matt Henkey
Jake Hoppman
Elliot Jung
Kevin Korte
Mike Malewitz
Jack Tietema
Maria VanderLei

Congratulations 9/10 West All-Stars

Manager: Jamie Billo
Coach: Rob Murray
Cooper Bell
Elliot Bergsma
Jack Billo
Canes Coleman
Samuel Ferrick
Ben Forstner
Lance Hoezee
Max Lundeen
James Lykins
James Murray
Ethan Tipping
Max Vicari
Marty Ward

Coaches: Equipment Return Dates

Coaches in 78ers, Minors and Majors:

Please return your team's equipment on one of the following scheduled equipment return dates:

• Tue-22-Jun, 7:00pm
• Thu-24-Jun, 7:00pm
• Tue-13-Jul, 7:00pm

If you have any questions, please contact Steve Bender, our equipment manager:

• 780-8048
• launchllc@gmail.com

Only Once a Year

by Southern's Field Reporter

Another Family Day come and gone. Another day of sun shining down on Grand Rapids (except during the All-Star Game, of course). Another day of bounce castles, slip-and-slides, and steak kabobs. This is what we play baseball for.

78ers White Sox #14 Aidan Callahan

We play so that all the people outside of the fence with their corn and butter dripping down their chins can watch us hit RBI singles and tag out our friends from school and then rub it in after the games.

Even though Southern isn’t the biggest organization and Grand Rapids isn’t the biggest city, even though reporters from all over the country didn’t see Teddy Russo go deep twice against Vandenberge’s Old Orchard team or the AL Minors All-Star team turn a double play, we Little Leaguers still love Family Day, and now we’ll have to wait another year for it to come around again.

Important Team Tournament and All-Star Tournament Dates

Team Tournaments for Baseball and Softball

• Majors: 19-Jun - 1-Jul
• Juniors: 26-Jun - 9-Jul
• Seniors: 5-Jul - 9-Jul

All-Star Tournaments

• 9/10 Baseball and Softball:
• Districts: 12-Jul - 24-Jul
• State: 31-Jul - 7-Aug
• 11 Baseball:
• Districts: 9-Jul - 17-Jul
• State: 22-Jul - 29-Jul
• 11 Softball:
• Districts: 17-Jul - 22-Jul
• State: 31-Jul - 4-Aug
• Majors Baseball:
• Districts: 5-Jul - 18-Jul
• State: 22-Jul - 2-Aug
• Regional: 5-Aug - 14-Aug
• World Series: 17-Aug - 31-Aug
• Majors Softball:
• Districts: 5-Jul 5 - 15-Jul
• State: 17-Jul - 27-Jul
• Regional: 30-Jul - 8-Aug
• Juniors Baseball:
• Districts: 12-Jul - 21-Jul
• Sectional: 24-Jul - 25-Jul
• State: 29-Jul - 5-Aug
• Regional and World Series: TBD
• Juniors Softball:
• Districts: 12-Jul - 24-Jul
• State: 29-Jul - 4-Aug
• Regional and World Series: TBD
• Seniors Baseball:
• Districts: 12-Jul - 20-Jul
• Sectional: 24-Jul - 25-Jul
• State: 27-Jul - 4-Aug
• Regional and World Series: TBD
• Seniors Softball
• Districts: 10-Jul - 15-Jul
• State: 17-Jul - 24-Jul
• Regional and World Series: TBD

Congratulations Raffle Winners!

Congratulations to the winners of our Family Day Raffle:

• $2000 - Brad Uhl
• $1000 - Bob Hams
• $500 - Darcy Hoppman

Congratulations, too, to Scott Markham's team in the Baseball Major League for selling the most raffle tickets. Markham's team will be heading to a White Caps game in July for an on-field experience with the team during the National Anthem.

John Belanger, our raffle coordinator, is eager to hear any feedback, comments or questions you may have about the raffle. Your opinion matters. You can contact John at:

• john.belanger@att.net
• 520-3231

Southern Little League really depends on success of the raffle every year as an important part of our overall fund raising activities. Thanks to everyone who pitched in to make this year's raffle such a success.

4:30pm 78ers Games are Canceled for Tue-8-Jun. ALL OTHER GAMES ARE ON!

Because of field conditions, the 78ers games scheduled for 4:30pm today on the JC fields have been canceled. We're still hopeful that later games can go on as scheduled. Please check the website again before you head to Southern tonight. We'll make another announcement as soon as we can.

As of 4:42pm, we are trying to play all other games tonight. Please proceed to your ballfield for further news.

Change to Juniors Softball Schedule

We have made a change to the juniors softball schedule. The affected games are now shaded orange on the online schedule.

• The game originally scheduled for 6:30pm on Fri-11-Jun has been changed to a double-header. The first game will begin at 6:00pm.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

Majors and Minors Softball Crossover Games

We have updated the schedules for major and minor softball to show the recently announced crossover games. The games begin TONIGHT. Please have a look at the online schedules to see the details.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

14th Annual Family Day

Today is Family Day. Thirty ball games and lots of other activities will be going on all day long, so bring the whole family.

Volunteers:

• We still need lots of volunteers of all kinds at various times on Saturday.
• Please sign up at the concession stand or contact Amy at volunteer@southernll.org.

Enjoy our expanded menu:

• Mom's marinated steak-on-a-stick
• Pulled pork sandwiches
• Hamburgers, jumbo hot dogs and Johnsonville stadium brats
• Meal deals
• Famous sauteed onions and all your favorite condiments
  
• Corn-on-the-cob

Activities for the kids: free!

• Water Run - a bouncy runway that leads to a shallow pool at the end
• Bounce Land - a place for kids to bounce around
  

Raffle:

• Reminder: Please sell your raffle tickets and turn in the money and stubs before the deadline on Saturday at 6:00pm.
• The big raffle drawing will take place at 7:00pm.
  

All-Star Games:

• Plan on staying for the Minor and Major Baseball All-Star Games at 7:30pm.

Hope for good weather! We'll see everyone out at Southern today!.

All Games are ON as Scheduled Wed-2-Jun

Please check the website again for the very latest update before you leave for your game tonight. Be sure to thank the grounds crew if you see them. They pumped water off the fields for 3 hours today!

Reschedule of Rain-out in Majors Baseball: Combs & Ward

We have rescheduled a rained out game in majors baseball. The new game is shaded orange on the online schedule.

• The Combs vs Ward game that was rained out on Fri-21-May will now be played on Sun-6-Jun at 1:00pm

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

Raffle Reminder

Please turn in all raffle tickets and money to John Belanger on or before Family Day, Saturday, June 5. John and Brendan will be at Southern all day on the 5th near the concession stand collecting money and selling more tickets. The drawing will take place just before the 7:30pm all-star games. Remember, you need not be present to win.

You can read all the details about the raffle here.

Don't forget the great prizes: $2,000, $1,000, and $500 cash for first, second, and third prizes.

And kids, don't forget the sales incentives lined up for this year:

• a limited edition water bottle for every player who sells 5 or more tickets
• the top ticket selling team will join our own West Michigan White Caps on the field for the National Anthem later in July.

Please call John if you have any questions or concerns, including requests for additional tickets, ideas on how best to succeed in your sales efforts, and information on how to return ticket stubs and money.

Thank you all for your efforts,
John Belanger
520-3231

Family Day Volunteers Needed

Family Day is coming up soon - Saturday, June 5th. We are looking for volunteers to work in the food tent and to staff various kids games that day. Jobs include serving food, taking orders, managing the bounce house, etc. None of these jobs is very difficult, but we need lots of volunteers.

The activities run from 10:00am until 8:00pm. We divide this time into two-hour shifts. If you're willing to take a two-hour shift, please call or email Amy, our Family Day volunteer coordinator and let her know the times you are available:

• familyday@southernll.org
• 813-3512

Thanks for your support. See you at the ballpark on Saturday.

Congratulations Minors Baseball Family Day All-Stars

Congratulations to the following minors baseball players who were chosen by their teammates to play in the all-star game on Family Day. The game will take place on Sat-5-Jun at 7:30pm on the West field.

National League	American League
Coach: Jamie Billo	Coach: Dan Tietema
Billo Braves:    Max Lundeen #18    Elliot Jung #40	Tietema Cubs:    Kevin Korte #5    Jack Tietema #11
Sullivan Cardinals:    Connor Goulet #33    Canes Coleman #10	Adams A's    Alex Adams #11    Justin Varineau #14
Murray Yankees:    James Murray #4    Mark Boeve #11	Boender White Sox:    Matthew Winkle #8    Henry Breems #13
McCulloch Phillies:    Ezekiel Ramos #57    Lance Hoezee #13	Doezema Marlins:    Kyle Finn    Savion Vega
Hoppman Tigers:    Jake Hoppman #7    Matt Henkey #5	Berglund Nationals:    Garrit Harkema #55    Ryan Sheeran #58
Ferrick Red Sox:    Peter Burns #25    Samuel Ferrick #50	O'Connor Twins:    Jack Peterson #4    Clay Conway #13
Schneider Indians:    Noah Groen #50    Dane Schneider #55	Abdalla Dodgers:    Nolan Gardner #4    Luciano Amato #13
Bell Angels:    Cooper Bell #16    Bailey McGinnis #15	Smith Rays:    Colin Beggs #57    Connor Smith #68

If you see any spelling errors, please email the webmaster.

Family Day Match-ups for Baseball Minors and Majors

Based on the current standings in majors and minors baseball, we have decided on the schedule of games for Family Day, Sat-5-Jun. Have a look at the online schedules to see where and when your team will play on Family Day. (If you happened to peek at the schedule before today, be aware that the match-ups have changed, so we urge you to look at the online schedule again.)

And don't forget the two all-star games at 7:30pm that evening!

Team Parents: Photos are Ready to be Picked Up

Coaches and team parents only (not parents of individual players):
The photo packets have been delivered to the concession stand. To minimize the chaos at the concession stand, we are asking that only the coach or team parent pick up the packets for the entire team, then distribute them to the players and their parents. Please, unless you are the coach or the team parent, do not go to the concession stand to pick up your child's individual photos.

Change to 78ers Schedule: Kolk, Vanderboegh, Johnson & Dershem

We have made switched around two games in the 78ers baseball. The affected games are now shaded orange on the online schedule.

• The Kolk vs Vanderboegh game that was originally scheduled for 7:30pm on Tue-15-Jun will now be played at 4:30pm.
• The Johnson vs Dershem game that was originally scheduled for 4:30pm on Tue-15-Jun will now be played at 7:30pm.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

All Games for Wed-26-May are Canceled

Fields are now underwater.

Change to Juniors Schedule TODAY: VanScoyk & Lewis

Because of the large number of players who are away tonight on a class trip, we have rescheduled the VanScoyk vs Lewis game that was originally scheduled for tonight. The game is now shaded orange on the online schedule.

• The VanScoyk vs Lewis game that was originally scheduled for 7:30pm on Wed-26-May will now be played on Sun-6-Jun at 3:00pm.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

Change to Juniors Schedule: Boeve & Vaughn

We have adjusted the start time of a Boeve vs Vaughn game in Juniors baseball. The game time is now shaded orange on the online schedule.

• The Boeve vs Vaughn game that was originally scheduled for 5:30pm on Fri-11-Jun will now start 30 minutes earlier at 5:00pm.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

All Games for Fri-21-May are Now Canceled

We tried our best, but the rain still came. All tonight's games are canceled.

Seniors Baseball Rosters Now Available

The rosters for seniors baseball are now available on the website. Click on the "Rosters" link on the right sidebar.

Seniors Baseball Coaches: Full Roster Info Online

Seniors Coaches: We have placed the full rosters including contact information on the website. Click on the "Coaches" link on the right sidebar. Then click on "Official Rosters". Enter the password, and you'll be able to view the full rosters. If you notice any errors, need the password, or care to fill in any missing information, email the webmaster.

Correction to Seniors Baseball Schedule: Malewitz & Lewis

We have corrected an error in the schedule for Seniors baseball. The two games on Wed-16-Jun listed incorrect matchups. The changes are shaded orange on the online schedule.

• Primus will now play Lewis at 5:30pm.
• Malewitz will nor play Huizenga at 7:45pm.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

Change to Juniors Schedule: Vaughn & Horjus

We have rescheduled a Vaughn vs Horjus game in Juniors baseball. The game is shaded orange on the online schedule.

• The Vaughn vs Horjus game that was originally scheduled for 5:30pm on Wed-26-May will now be played at 1:00pm on Sun-6-Jun.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

Coaches: Reminder to Call in Scores

Hey, coaches. Thanks to those of you who have so diligently phoned in scores after your games. Our standings are up to date, and I know the kids appreciate that. In fact, the standings pages are the most popular pages on the entire website.

So how well have the coaches done in calling in scores?

Juniors.........56%
Majors..........84%
Minors..........70%
Overall.........72%

Kudos to the following coaches who have not required nagging even once this season:
Juniors: Buffinga, VanScoyk & Vaughn
Majors: Henkey, Vulpetti, Combs, Sullivan, Vandenberge, Campbell/Norton, Markham & Ward
Minors: Billo, Sullivan, Berglund, O'Connor & Boender

Is your name not on this list? Then please take a moment to re-read the instructions for calling in game scores here.

Photos from Catholic Central vs East GR

Thanks to Paul Soltysiak for these great photos of the varsity action last Friday night.

Saturday is Picture Day at Southern

Just a reminder that Sat-15-May is picture day.

• Each team is given a specific time slot for pictures, and by now your coach should have contacted you about what time you need to be there.
• There's also an opportunity for players to have individual pictures taken.
• Even if you're not planning on purchasing a team or individual photo, as a courtesy to others on the team, please make sure your child is present for the team picture anyhow.
• Save time by filling out your order form ahead of time if you have one. If not, the photographer will have forms available there.
• Pictures are taken over near the Mackay Jaycee soccer fields, under the pavilion in the woods, near the playground.
• They run a tight ship, so be on time for your team's scheduled slot.

All Games for Thu-13-May are Canceled

All games at Southern for Thu-13-May are canceled. The fields have taken more water than they can handle, and the weather continues to be questionable. No makeup dates will be determined until after Memorial Day weekend.

Catholic Central vs East GR at Southern Friday Night

Come on out and watch some great varsity baseball at Southern on Friday night as Catholic Central takes on East Grand Rapids in a doubleheader. The first game starts at 4:30pm. We'll also have some great majors and minors baseball on the east and west fields as well as some softball on the JC fields. The weather forecast is decent, and we'll be grilling Southern's famous burgers, brats and hot dogs, so come on out and support your Southern teams.

Juniors Softball Schedules Now Available

We have posted the schedules for the softball junior league. Look for the "Schedules" link on the right sidebar.

Changes to Softball Majors Schedule Fri-14-May and Fri-4-Jun

Southern's two majors softball games on Fri-14-May and Fri-4-Jun have been moved to an earlier start time. Those games' start times are shaded orange on the online schedule.

• Southern#1-VanHoven vs Southern#2 will now play at 6:00pm on Fri-14-May.
• Southern#1-VanHoven vs Kellogsville will now play at 6:00pm on Fri-4-Jun.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

Correction to Juniors Schedule: Tolonen & Boeve

Thanks to an alert parent for catching an error on the juniors schedule on Fri-4-Jun. We had inadvertently scheduled two games for 5:30pm that day. The changed game time is shaded orange on the online schedule.

• Tolonen vs Boeve will now be played at 7:30pm on Fri-4-Jun.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

Adams A's 8, Berglund Nationals 7

by Southern's Field Reporter

A’s 8, Nationals 7
It might have been the weather, or maybe the early time, or maybe everybody just wanted to be at home instead of out in the cold drizzle. Whatever the reason, Saturday morning’s minors game between the A’s and Nationals at SLL West Field started pretty sloppily.

The A’s were trying to maintain their undefeated start, while the Nats were looking to get their third win of the season. But the showers in the first inning also brought a shower of mishandled balls.

The Nats gave up five runs in the top of the first on walks and passed balls. The A’s also had trouble with the ball in the first. An infield single by the Nationals’ James Lykins turned into a two-run inside-the-park home run, due to a series of errors.

Both teams settled down after that.

Nationals pitcher Maria VanderLei came back in the second and struck out the side on fourteen pitches. But the A’s scored two more runs in the third. Alex Adams hit a triple deep to the left-center field fence that scored one run. Adams later scored to make it 7-4.

The Nats made a run at a comeback in the bottom of the sixth. Down 8-5, with one out, two Nationals batters got on base and came around to score on passed balls. Suddenly, the Nats were looking to tie with two outs.

But, it didn’t work. The A’s closer finished the game with a strikeout. The A’s kept an undefeated record, while bumping the Nats down to 2-3.

If you'd like to submit a game report for publication, write it up and send it to the webmaster.

Changes to Majors Schedule: Henkey, Olsson, Antonini & Campbell/Norton

We have switched two games in the majors on Wed-26-Apr and Thu-27-Apr. The games are shaded orange on the online schedule.

• Campbell/Norton vs Antonini will now play at 6:30pm on Wed-26-May.
• Olsson vs Henkey will now play at 5:00pm on Thu-27-May.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

Weather Update

• The 4:30pm 78ers game on the West field (Masek vs Hollern) has been canceled.
• All other games are still ON as scheduled.
• Continue to check the website for up-to-the-minute updates.

Please remember our universal recommendation about weather:
If the weather is questionable, check the website before heading out to Southern.

Umpires: Get Text Message Alerts from Jim Weiss

Hey, umpires!

Whenever Jim needs an umpire on short notice or if he ever has to send out a last-minute announcement to his umpires, wouldn't it be great if you could just get a text message? Well, now you can! It's easy and it's free. (Standard text messaging rates on your phone apply).

Our system uses Twitter. You've heard about it, but you don't quite get it, right? No problem. It's so simple, you won't believe it. Just send this text message to 40404:
     follow slluic
Then follow the instructions in the text message replies you get back from Twitter. Easy!

Already have a Twitter account? Then just log in to Twitter and follow slluic. You know how to do it.

Change to Juniors Schedule: Vaughn & Tolonen

Because of a field scheduling conflict, we have a game on Fri-14-May to be played on Sat-15-May. The game is shaded orange on the online schedule.

• The Vaughn vs Tolonen game that was originally scheduled for 6:30pm on Fri-14-May will now be played at 4:30pm on Sat-15-May.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

All Games are ON as Scheduled Sat-8-May

We know it's damp and chilly today, but the fields are in playable condition. So we're going ahead with all 26 scheduled games at Southern today.

Some of you may have inadvertently received an email at around 1:00am about games being canceled. That email was just an accidental repeat of the cancellation of Friday night's games. Sorry for any inconvenience.

We apologize, too, for the short time between reminding you that all Friday's games were on at about 4:00pm, only to then tell you 30 minutes later that they are all canceled. We do our best to keep you informed. The weather and hence field conditions change by the minute. We still recommend that you always check your email and/or the website before heading off to Southern. If you get there and discover that the games have been canceled, you can be assured that we did our utmost to get that word out to our 900 participants as quickly as we could.

Sorry again for any inconvenience.

All Games Canceled

Because of the weather, all remaining games for today have been canceled.

The softball majors game at Northview Quad has also been canceled.

All Games are ON as Scheduled Today

Despite the wet weather, the fields are in playable condition, so all games for this evening are ON as scheduled.

Announcing the 2010 Raffle!

Grand Prize: $2,000 cash

Second Prize: $1,000 cash

Third Prize: $500 cash

• Tickets cost $20 each. They have been distributed to all coaches and/or team parents. It's important that we sell all these tickets to make the raffle a success.
• The drawing takes place on Family Day, Saturday, June 5, prior to the All-Star Game. (You need not be present to win.)
• Individual players who sell five or more tickets will win a Southern Little League sports bottle.
• The team that sells the most tickets will attend a Whitecaps game and be on the field for the National Anthem.
• If you have any questions or need extra tickets, please contact john.belanger@att.net or 520-3231.

All Today's Games on East and West Fields Delayed 30 Minutes

Because of the weather, we've decided to delay all today's games on the East and West fields by thirty minutes. And yes, this does mean that even the 5:00pm games will start at 5:30pm. All games on the JC East and JC West fields, however, are unaffected by the delay and will start as scheduled.

Sign Up Online for 2010 Big League

• DEADLINE IS JUNE 15! Online sign-up will close after the deadline.
• The cost is $110. After the deadline, the cost increases to $125.
  
• You can sign up and pay online by clicking here.

Changes to Minors Baseball Schedule

To avoid any team playing two games on the same date, we have made some changes to the minors baseball schedule on Mon-24-May and Wed-26-May. All games affected by these changes are shaded orange on the online schedule.

• Hoppman vs Doezema will now play at 5:30pm (instead of 5:00pm) on Mon-24-May.
• Bell vs Adams will now play at 7:30pm (instead of 7:00pm) on Mon-24-May.
• Ferrick vs Berglund will now play at 5:00pm (instead of 5:30pm) on Wed-26-May.
• Smith vs McCulloch will now play at 6:30pm (instead of 7:30pm) on Wed-26-May.
• Boender vs Schneider will now play at 8:00pm on Wed-26-May (instead of Mon-24-May).

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

EGR Baseball Team Fundraiser

East Grand Rapids Baseball Fundraiser  

A great cause

and some great food

All friends, family and supporters of the East Grand Rapids Baseball Team

are invited to participate in their fundraising event on

Sunday, May 2, 2010 

Everyone is invited to gather at Buffalo Wild Wings in Grand Rapids (2035 28^th St.) for lunch, dinner, or a snack. On this day 20% of purchases* accompanied by the certificate below will be donated to the 

East Grand Rapids Baseball Team.

Present this certificate to your server at the time of your order and 20% of purchases* will go to support the
East Grand Rapids Baseball Team
Only valid at 2035 28th St., Grand Rapids, MI (616) 241-2999

Buffalo Wild Wings is a Southern Little League sponsor and will do fundraisers like this for other schools as well.

Change to Juniors Baseball Schedule: Vaughn, Danhof, Boeve & Buffinga

At the request of the coaches, we have switched two games around on Mon-3-May and Tue-4-May. These games are shaded orange on the online schedule.

• Vaughn vs Danhof will now play at 6:30pm on Mon-3-May.
• Boeve vs Buffinga will now play at 7:30pm on Tue-4-May.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

Change to Majors Baseball Schedule: Markham & Vandenberge

At the request of the coaches involved, we have made a change to the majors baseball schedule on June 2 and June 4. The changes are shaded orange on the online schedule.

• Markham will now play against Antonini on June 2.
• Vandenberge will now play against Antonini on June 4.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

Changes to Juniors Baseball Schedule

Due to double-booking conflicts on the Henwood Field, we have had to re-schedule the first couple of weeks of Juniors baseball. We also made a switch on May 26 & 27. So rather than list all the individual changes, we recommend you revisit the online schedule and consider reprinting it. All the changes are shaded orange.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

Correction to Minors Softball Schedule Sat-1-May

We have discovered an error in the minors softball schedule. We had inadvertently listed the game on Sat-1-May with a 6:30pm start time. The schedule has now been corrected to show a 10:30am start time. The game is now shaded orange on the online schedule.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

Metal Tech (Henkey) 5, Exclusive Garbage & Recycling (Olsson) 3

by Southern's Field Reporter

One hit. It was one big hit that decided the winner on Friday evening and sent the 2010 Southern Little League Majors season into full swing.

That hit was a shot to right-center in the fourth inning by Bryce Henkey that knocked in two runs. Henkey then scored on an error to put his team up 5-3.

Coach Olsson’s team had led since the first inning. Brennan Burke, Mike Clifford, and Jonathon Olsson had consecutive hits, and the team went through seven batters while knocking in three runs. Coach Henkey’s club managed to bring two runners across the plate in the bottom of the first.

Olsson’s team held the lead thanks to Jonathon Olsson’s pitching. He threw four innings of two-run ball before giving up three hits and three runs in the fourth frame.

After giving up the three runs in the first, the home team’s starter, Mark Primus, settled down and pitched shutout ball before giving the ball to Will Kortz in the sixth. Kortz saved the game for Metal Tech by retiring Ben Loos on a grounder to third with runners on first and second.
If you'd like to submit a game report for publication, write it up and send it to the webmaster.

All Games are ON as Scheduled Today

We're told the rain is almost past GR now, so we're still planning a full day of games at Southern.

Baseball Majors Schedule Change: Henkey, Campbell/Norton, Vandenberge & Combs

At the request of the coaches involved, we have made a change to the schedule for the baseball Major League on Thu-13-May and Fri-14-May. The changes are now shaded orange on the schedule.

• Campbell/Norton vs Henkey will now play on Fri-14-May.
• Vandenberge vs Combs will now play on Thu-13-May.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

Juniors and Seniors Baseball Schedules Now Available

We have posted the schedules for baseball junior and senior leagues. Look for the "Schedules" link on the right sidebar. (Seniors rosters have not yet been announced.)

Softball and Minors Baseball Schedule Changes

Because of a conflict on the city-owned JC East and JC West fields, we are forced to push back the start times of the following games. The dates and fields are the same. The changes are now shaded orange on all schedules affected.

• Baseball Minors
• Mon-26-Apr: Adams, Schneider, Abdalla, and Murray now play at 6:00pm.
• Mon-3-May: Billo, McCulloch, Berglund, and Doezema now play at 6:00pm.
• Mon-10-May: Ferrick, Hoppman, O'Connor, and Tietema now play at 5:30pm.
• Mon-17-May: Boender, Billo, Bell, and Berglund now play at 5:30pm.
• Softball Minors
• Mon-3-May: Prince vs Northview #2 is now at 7:30pm.
• Mon-10-May: Northern vs Kellogsville is now at 7:30pm.
• Softball Majors
• Mon-26-Apr: VanHoven, Northern, Southern #2, and Northview #3 now play at 7:30pm.
• Mon-3-May: VanHoven vs Northview #1 is now at 7:30pm.
• Mon-10-May: Southern #2 vs Northview #1 is now at 7:00pm.
• Mon-17-May: VanHoven, Northview #2, Southern #2, and Northern now play at 7:00pm.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

78ers Schedule Change: Passinault & Hollern

At the request of the coaches involved, we have made a change to the schedule for the 78ers League on Sat-24-Apr. The changes are now shaded orange on the schedule.

• Hollern's team will now play at 2:30pm on the JC West field. Passinault's team will now play at 9:00am on the West field.

As a rule, whenever we make a change or correction to a schedule, we always announce it to all our email subscribers. That means some of you might receive schedule change announcements for leagues not of interest to you. But hopefully you can understand the importance of notifying players, families, umpires and volunteers about schedule changes.

Reminder to Coaches

Coaches in the baseball minors, majors, juniors and seniors:

Please remember to phone in your scores after every game. Just call 827-7882 after every game. You can read more details here. If you neglect to phone in your score, then the standings are not current and I end up having to nag you. That's a big inconvenience for me. So this year, as an incentive to you, I'll be keeping track of how many times I have to nag each coach. That way I can commend those coaches who call in the most and embarrass those coaches who neglect to call in the most.

-Paul

Corrections to Majors Softball Schedule

Thanks to an alert parent for bringing to our attention an error in the majors softball schedule. We had inadvertently listed two weekday games as having daytime start times. They have both now been corrected to be the usual 6:30pm start time. The only exceptions to this are Saturday games as indicated on the schedule.

Rule Changes for 2010 and More

You can view the 2010 rule changes on the Little League website here. We have also added this link to the Coaches page for your convenience.

Also, coaches, please take a moment to review your upcoming field and batting cage reservations. We'd like to remind you that you are asked to limit your field reservations to one slot per week. This does not mean one slot per field per week. It means one practice field slot plus one batting cage slot per week in total. We're still seeing a number of coaches who are well beyond this limit. Some of you have reserved batting cage time before every game. That's clever, but if it ends up being more than once a week, you're not in compliance. Please help us out by reviewing your reservations now to make sure you comply. If you see other coaches in violation, have a polite word with them or contact the webmaster.

One more thing, coaches. Have a look on your league's schedules page. If you don't see your team's sponsor name or team name beside the coach's name, please email the webmaster with that information so we can update the schedules and standings to include it.

Thanks!

Thanks to all those who volunteered to clean up at Southern on Saturday. We're all set for opening day this Friday with two major league and two minor league baseball games that evening.

Financial Help for Southern Field Improvements

Southern Little League has committed to additions of the West Field dugouts and a large fencing replacement and improvement project. Included in this project are the additions of the dugouts on the West field, Backstop overhangs on both the East and West fields, and the replacement of fencing on the Senior Field (Henwood Field) down the lines and the outfield which is over 40 years old. WE NEED YOUR HELP WITH CHARITABLE DONATIONS TO SOUTHERN LITTLE LEAGUE!! As with any large project the costs keep going up and we could really use your financial support for your Little League. What do you get in return? A charitable contribution write off on your taxes and most importantly the satisfaction of knowing that you have contributed to one of the longest operating Little Leagues in America. 57 years Southern has been serving the youth of Southeast Grand Rapids and East Grand Rapids. WITH YOUR HELP WE CAN MAKE IT ANOTHER 57 YEARS. Please drop of your checks this weekend to Myself, Rob Henkey, Will Jager or Bernie Malewitz. Please make your check payable to Southern Little League and we will send you the appropriate receipts. $100, $200, $500 or $1000. Everything helps. I challenge you all with a $500.00 donation that I will hand to Bernie and Rob Saturday.

Hope to see you all Friday or Saturday,
Sincerely,
Bob Hams
Southern Little League

Team Names

Coaches, once you have your equipment and are assigned a team name or sponsor, please email the webmaster so we can place your team/sponsor name on the schedule and standings. Please include your league, coach name and team/sponsor name in the email.

Saturday is Clean-Up Day

Please plan to come out to Southern Little League on Saturday, April 17th. We'll be working to clean up our facilities and prep the fields to get Southern ready to kick off the season. We need volunteers of all ages! The day will begin at 9:00am, and we expect to be done by noon. All help is greatly appreciated. Bring an extra rake if you have one. Also, please note that if we need to cancel due to the weather, we will post it on the website. So come out and pitch in!

Softball Majors and Minors Schedules Now Available

We have posted the schedules for softball minor and major leagues. Look for the "Schedules" link on the right sidebar.

The juniors schedule is coming soon. We'll post it as soon as we receive it.

Thanks, Coaches!

Thanks, Coaches, for a great turnout at the coaches meeting on Wednesday night. 48 out of 53 teams were represented!

78ers (Coach-Pitch) Equipment Pick-up

78ers Coaches,
Please pick up your team equipment at the equipment shed at Southern on Thu-15-Apr at 7pm. You'll get all your team equipment plus shirts and hats for the players.

Calling All Umpires!

All Umpires:
Don’t forget to sign up to receive emails as an “insider.” Future umpire announcements will not be broadcast to everyone, just to that "insiders" email list. Click here to sign up for that.

First-Year Umpires:
All first-year umpires are required to attend a full training session before working their first game. If you did not attend the information session at EGR HS, please show up 30 minutes before the scheduled start of training for registration information.
Beginning umpire training clinics at Southern:

• Sunday April 18 3:30-6:00pm
• Sunday April 25 1:00-3:30pm

Returning Umpires:
All returning umpires who plan to umpire this year must send an email to: umpires@southernll.org stating you wish to umpire this season. Please include:

• your name
• your cell or home phone number
• number of years as an umpire
• highest level umpired at Southern
• your current grade in school
• your current baseball level (school and little league)

Umpires wishing to move up from Minors to Majors:
You must attend an intermediate training session.
Intermediate training clinics at Southern:

• Saturday April 17 4:30–6:00pm
• Sunday April 18 1-2:30pm

Questions? Contact our umpire coordinator.

New Email List for Southern "Insiders"

In an effort to keep the unnecessary emails to a minimum, we have created a separate mailing list for Southern Little League "Insiders."

Who are "Insiders"?
Coaches, assistant coaches, each team's "team parent," umpires, league directors, board members and any other folks who want to get emails intended for this narrower audience. (Just to clarify, the term "Team Parent" here does not mean every parent of every player. The "Team Parent" is the one parent on each team who has volunteered to help the coach organize the team's picture day, raffle sales, snack schedule, etc.)

If you're a Southern "Insider," please read the details and sign up here. It's the best way for you to get the announcements you need.

Everyone else, you can sit back and be assured that you'll still be getting all the announcements that might matter to you, but not those intended for the narrower "insider" audience.

Questions? Contact the webmaster.

Softball Rosters

Here are the rosters for all levels of the 2010 softball teams. If you have not heard from your coach yet, feel free to contact him/her. You can see the schedules once they are available by clicking the schedules link on the right sidebar. To view this document on its own or to print or download it, click here.

Coaches and Team Parent Meeting Wed-14-Apr

The Southern Little League Coaches and Team Parents meeting is scheduled for this Wednesday, April 14, from 7:00 to 8:00pm at the East Grand Rapids Middle School cafeteria. This is a mandatory meeting for at least one coach from every team and a Team Parent from every team. (Just to clarify, the term "Team Parent" here does not mean every parent of every player. The "Team Parent" is the one parent on each team who has volunteered to help the coach organize the team's picture day, raffle sales, snack schedule, etc.) Topics will include picture day, raffle, sponsors, concession stand volunteers and general operating information for the 2010 season. Please bring along your schedules to the meeting. We appreciate your attendance as this is the most important meeting of the year for organizational purposes.

Regards,
Southern Little League Board

Coaches: New Practice Field Reservation Slots Now Available

Coaches, we have managed to claim another two hours of practice field time at the Lakeside and Breton Downs fields. We have all four of those fields now on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7-8pm. The online reservations system now shows these new slots. We have also extended the schedule for these fields through the first week of June. Please be considerate and reserve only one slot per week. And remember, too, to wait the five minutes after making your reservation before making another one.

We also have a new letter of permission from the city of East Grand Rapids that lists the times when those fields are available for Southern's exclusive use. You can find that on the same page where you make field reservations. We recommend you print that letter and keep it with you in case there's another group at one of those fields during your scheduled practice time.

Softball Rosters Coming Soon

We expect to post the softball rosters some time the week of April 12. Meanwhile, the webmaster and the softball coordinator are on Spring Break, so we ask for your patience. We'll post those rosters as soon as we can. Thanks.

Seniors Baseball Rosters

Here are the rosters for the 2010 Seniors baseball teams. If you have not heard from your coach yet, feel free to contact him. You can see the schedules by clicking the schedules link on the right sidebar. To view this document on its own or to print or download it, click here.

Juniors Baseball Rosters

Here are the rosters for the 2010 Juniors baseball teams. If you have not heard from your coach yet, feel free to contact him. You can see the schedules by clicking the schedules link on the right sidebar. To view this document on its own or to print or download it, click here.

78ers (Coach-Pitch) Baseball Rosters

Here are the rosters for the 2010 78ers (coach-pitch) baseball teams. If you have not heard from your coach yet, feel free to contact him. You can see the schedules by clicking the schedules link on the right sidebar. To view this document on its own or to print or download it, click here.

Coaches: Practice Field Reservations Now Available

Coaches only: You can now go to the coaches page on the right sidebar and reserve practice fields at Breton Downs and Lakeside elementary schools as well as Southern's east and west fields. We also have reservations available for the two batting cages at Southern. As always, please read the instructions carefully. The password is the same as last year. If you don't know it, email webmaster@southernll.org.

Majors Baseball Rosters

Here are the rosters for the 2010 Majors baseball teams. If you have not heard from your coach yet, feel free to contact him. You can see the schedules by clicking the schedules link on the right sidebar. To view this document on its own or to print or download it, click here.

Minors Baseball Rosters

Here are the rosters for the 2010 Minors baseball teams. If you have not heard from your coach yet, feel free to contact him. You can see the schedules by clicking the schedules link on the right sidebar. To view this document on its own or to print or download it, click here.

Rosters and Schedules Coming Soon

Thanks for a great turnout on our tryout day on Saturday. The volunteers at Southern Little League are working hard this week to finalize all the team rosters, coaching assignments, and team schedules. We expect to post all the rosters and schedules by Thursday, April 1. If you're signed up to get email updates, you'll get an email as soon as this information is finalized.

Tryout Session and Umpire Meeting Reminder

A reminder that the tryout session is scheduled for Saturday, March 27, at the East Grand Rapids High School gymnasium. Only certain players need to attend, so please take the time to read through the information about tryout day to determine if and when your child needs to be there. Click here to read all the details.

One slight change from our original note: softball players will not be having a tryout session. They can expect to be contacted by coaches once the rosters are finalized.

Also, a change in policy from previous years: If your child is 10 years old and wishes to try out for the Major League (baseball), he or she must be present at tryouts. Otherwise, 10-year-olds will be placed in the Minor League by default. Also, all 10 year olds who are new to Southern this year should plan to come to the tryouts. 

Finally, umpires, don't forget the informational meeting immediately following the tryouts.