Saugus Little League Opening Day

League officials monitored the weather as rainy forecasts threatened to cancel tomorrow’s parade and ceremonies

By Mark E. Vogler

Rain! Rain! Please go away

Come again some other day

So the Saugus kids can have their parade and play

At Grabowski Field on Opening Day

Weather forecasts all week have cast of cloud of uncertainty over plans for the Saugus Little League’s Opening Day Parade, which was set for tomorrow morning. It was still in doubt at press time for The Saugus Advocate as to whether the weather would cooperate for the popular call of “Play Ball!!” tomorrow.

“We’re hoping for the best,” Saugus Little League President John Benoit said in an interview Wednesday.

“Right now, it looks like a rainy weekend. Hopefully, that changes so we can have the parade and Opening Day ceremonies on Saturday. We’re going to wait as long as we can. We’ll wait til Thursday to make the call. We have to give enough notice to the vendors if we have to cancel the day. And we have to get in touch with organizers of some of the special features we have for the parade and Opening Ceremonies,” Benoit said.

If League officials decide to cancel, they will send out a league-wide email to all participants, he said. “If the weather doesn’t permit us to play, we’ll find a backup plan,” Benoit said.

For the second year in a row, the Saugus Little League will join up with Saugus Softball Little League for the parade, which will exit the parking lot of Belmonte STEAM Academy at 9 a.m., turn right onto Adams Avenue, right onto Central Avenue and left onto Hurd Avenue up to Grabowski Field. Guy Moley is working on getting 20 show cars to join in the parade, according to Benoit. They will carry some of the special guests, particularly local Vietnam War veterans who are being honored this year on the 50th anniversary of the war’s end. There will be fun for all with music, food, slush, entertainment and face-painting. Special guests will be honored by throwing out the first pitch as the league shows its appreciation to them

This will be a special year for the Saugus Little League, which has seen its league enrollment grow by 15 percent over the past three years to 270 kids this year. The league has also benefited from the generosity of local people who have pitched in to help out with special donations.

“One gentleman, Anthony Winn, donated enough money for the league to seal coat the black top behind Grabowski Field and to landscape behind the snack shack with bushes and mulch and help us get new pitching machines for the league,” Benoit said.

Selectman Anthony Cogliano, whose granddaughter will be playing t-ball this year, has worked behind the scenes to help put the league in touch with WIN Waste Innovations to buy a new scoreboard. A team of volunteers gathered at Grabowski Field last Saturday to install the new scoreboard, which replaces the 25-year-old one that stopped working.

“We’ve done well in fundraising and from generous donors,” Benoit said. “We’ve been able to put in new batting cages at Grabowski Field at the Elks Field and paint the snack shacks at both fields and put in brand-new sprinkler systems at both fields, purchase new infield mix and clay.”

All these things contribute to the satisfaction of Little Leaguers who will play on these fields,” he said.

If the show goes on as planned tomorrow, the Opening Day ceremonies will begin at 9:30 a.m., after the parade concludes its one-mile walk from Belmonte STEAM Academy. There will be a photo booth person so parents can get keepsake photos of their kids, a balloon artist and a walking magician. There will be several people throwing out the ceremonial balls. And there will be hot dogs, chips, soda pop and other goodies.

Players can be dropped off at Belmonte at 8:30 a.m. The Parade begins at 9 a.m. Families can line the route and cheer on the players as they go by. The Opening Day ceremonies should get underway around 9:30.

For more details or updates on scheduling plans, go to the league website at https://www.sauguslittleleaguebaseball.com