Once again the crack of the bat and cheers of the crowd can be heard in Boyd. According to Brad and Chris Benson, organizers of the Little League and T Ball leagues since 2020, almost 200 kids are playing ball this season at Lotz Park in Boyd. This year there are kids from Boyd, Stanley, Cadott, Thorp, Chippewa and Lake Hallie are getting together to enjoy America’s favorite pastime. Brad says “It’s so great to watch 3rd through 8th graders playing ball together, with the older kids helping to improve the younger kids. It’s a great family oriented game”.
Started in 1975 by Jim Swoboda, a teacher at St Joseph’s School, and Dan Strebig, a teacher and administrator at the Boyd Public school, and some local families, the league consisted of 5 teams and 75 kids. During the years since then, Little League has grown, and T Ball has been added. Currently there are about 126 kids playing Little League and about 75 playing T Ball. Kids must be age 4K through 2nd grade to play T Ball, then at 3rd grade they graduate to Little League, where they can play through 8th grade. There is also a Junior Leage for players in 9th – 12 grade.
Games take place at the park every Thursday evening. T-Ball games are played at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm. Little League begins with the first batter up called at 5:30, and the last game at 8:30. At 9:30 the Junior League takes the field for a game.
Family Night, an evening of fun for all, will take place again this year on Thursday, July 11. There will be the regular schedule of Little League games, but the T Ballers won’t be playing. Instead, they will have bouncy houses, face painting and other fun activities. At dark, fireworks set off by the Boyd Edson Delmar fire department will finish off the evening. The ball leagues and the Boyd Chamber sponsor the fireworks and say this year will be bigger and better than ever!
The regular season ends July 25th. On July 31 the Junior League will have a fun night with batters switch hitting and running the bases backwards, then August 1 through 4th the Little Leaguers will play the end of season tournament.
And a huge shout out goes to Bob Geist, the only umpire on hand during all the Little League games. Bob has been doing the honors for over 10 years, mostly on a volunteer basis.
So, if you’re looking for some fun on a Thursday evening, head on over to Lotz Park in Boyd for some fun baseball. And forget cooking dinner that night, concessions, which include pop, water, Gatorade, juice boxes, brats, fresh hamburgers, hot dogs, homemade French fries, ice cream, nachos, walking tacos, popcorn, and even loaded fries (at Bob’s request) are available starting at 5pm. A definite step up from that first “concession stand” which included a hay wagon with a tarp over the top!
Always looking for ways to improve the park, the Little League/T-Ball club holds fundraisers every year. Currently they are working on new scoreboards, and hopefully a handicap swing. The cost of the handicap swing is more than the club can raise so Brad and others are working on grants to help with the cost. Other ideas for the park include a Pickleball court and upgrades to both the infield and outfields.
Next year will celebrate 50 years of Little League in Boyd! According to Brad and Chris, there will be some special events planned next year so stay tuned for more information!