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.