Softball, baseball teams happy to be back in diamond
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY JOHN FIVECOAT
Left, Dalton’s Joey Reynolds is at bat June 15 against Wooster. Reynolds and teammate Ava Fivecoat.
By ARIEL STAHLER
DKGN sports writer
DALTON Baseball and softball diamonds in Wayne County are bursting with life. Sounds of players cheering on their teammates, bats clanging together and balls smacking into leather gloves have returned with many local summer league teams taking the fields.
When the spring sports season was canceled this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it seemed like there would be no baseball or softball in 2020. However, when it was cleared for some sports to resume, summer leagues were able to compete.
Dalton has a softball team competing in the Wayne County summer league. This team is coached by Dalton High School head coach Pam Spencer, along with two other coaches. Roughly 30 returning DHS players and incoming freshmen are on the team. The league, which has around 14 teams, runs for 10 weeks. The Lady Dawgs have a 3-1 record heading into the halfway point of the season.
Spencer said this league is helping the players stay sharp after losing the spring season.
“This league is giving our kids innings and at-bats that will help our skill set for next season,” she said. “It’s great to see all the kids playing together. This league is very competitive, but we are having fun.”
Dalton also has a baseball team competing in the Wooster league. Former DHS and Muskingum University baseball player Bryce Husted is coaching the team. According to Husted, this is Dalton’s first year playing in the Wooster league. They previously competed in the Tuslaw league. All of the players are from DHS and they would have been a part of this year’s high school team.
Although the team is serious and competitive, Husted said it has a different feel this year because the players did not have a spring season.
“You still want to go out and compete and have fun and win, but this is just letting them get out, play baseball and have some fun because they didn’t get to in the spring,” Husted said. “It’s a great opportunity for them to stay in the game while having fun.”
Read the complete story in the July 8, 2020 edition.
