Honesdale Little Baseball Association hosts Opening Day ceremonies for 2024 season

HONESDALE — Local youth sports fans turned out in force this past week to celebrate Opening Day of the 2024 Honesdale Little Baseball Association campaign.

Under the direction of longtime league president Charlie Rollison, the regular season opener went off without a hitch at the Scott Kinzinger Memorial Complex on Monday evening.

“It’s a great day for baseball,” said Rollison, who has been an HLBA coach and officer for more than three decades. “I’m very excited to get back on the field and so are the kids. It should be a great season.”

This year’s edition of the league features a total of 160 boys and girls ages 4-13. There are three divisions (T-Ball, Rookie, Senior) and 14 teams.

More: Honesdale Little Baseball Association Hosts Opening Day Ceremonies

Also by Kevin Edwards: Honesdale Little Baseball Association Hosts Opening Days of 2022 Season

Weather permitting, the 2024 season will stretch from early May through late June. Playoffs and All-Star games are tentatively slated for the week of June 24-28.

Let's play ball!

Opening Day festivities began Monday with a full slate of Rookie Division games.

Before the start of the contests, all six teams gathered at the Reisch Field to witness the ceremonial first pitch. This year’s honoree was former HLBA standout Mark Ambrose.

Ambrose is a lifelong baseball fan who now works as an account executive in season ticket sales for the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders, which is the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees.

“I’ve been with the team for over a year now and I absolutely love it,” he said. “I work hard year-round to try and bring new fans to the ballpark and maximize everyone’s experience in Moosic, Pennsylvania.”

Ambrose has fond memories of his years in the HLBA, which include playing for Rollison as a member of the Honesdale National Bank Phillies. He then went on to be a multisport standout at the high school level before heading off to college and eventually landing a position with the Railriders.

“I’m very happy to be here,” Ambrose said. “It’s an honor to be asked to throw out the first pitch of the season. I have great memories of playing in this league and I couldn’t be prouder to represent Honesdale and Wayne County on Opening Day.”

Ambrose actually threw out two pitches, one each to HLBA players Maci Rollison of the Sunrise Market Orioles and Genevieve Tallman of the Dime Bank Yankees.

For his part, Rollison was thrilled to have one of his former players come back to visit — especially one who’s made the national pastime his life’s work.

“Mark was definitely a hit with the kids,” Rollison said. “He hung around and talked with them all night. He also sets up our annual trip to a Railriders game. Mark is a fine young man and we were happy to have him throw out the first pitch.”

Diamond history

The Honesdale Little Baseball Association was founded in the 1950s.

It began modestly with just a handful of teams playing games on Clark Romich Memorial Field, which was located at the present-day site of Dave’s Super Duper.

Then, in the late 1970s, the burgeoning league expanded to include a brand new field at what was once the borough dump. That diamond, which was named in honor of the late Freddie Reisch, hosted its first title game in 1979.

In the intervening decades, two more fields were added in memory of Joe Cobb and Ed Rickard.

Today, the Scott Kinzinger Sports Complex, boasts three state-of-the art fields, a concession stand, lights and all the modern conveniences for fans.

Rollison has been a big part of HLBA’s history for over 30 years now. He’s also been league president for more than two decades and is a passionate advocate of teaching the sport’s fundamentals.

“Having fun and learning the basics are what we’re all about,” Rollison said. “We want the kids to have a positive experience every time they step on the field and also to develop a real love of the game.”

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Honesdale Little Baseball Association hosts Opening Day ceremonies