New Day in Baseball for Boyd County Youth
Grace Phillips
Ashland Beacon
Soon hundreds of boys and girls in Boyd County will grab their ball bats and gloves and head to the ball diamond. However, it will not be business as usual this year in Boyd County. Something very exciting has happened over the winter months with the merging of all three baseball and softball leagues in Boyd County. The Ripken League, Catlettsburg, and Boyd County National Little League have merged into one united league called Boyd County-Catlettsburg Little League.
Recently, the newly formed league held a public informational meeting to answer questions about the upcoming season. Tiffany Black, League President, introduced the current board members and discussed the need for additional leadership positions to be filled. She also told those attending that many coaches and assistant coaches would be needed for the upcoming season.
Black told the large group in attendance, “It will take a village to make this work and to be honest, one of the reasons for the merge is that our village was dwindling. I understand we have jobs and so many other commitments, but it was difficult to get volunteers and people to work. We anticipate approximately 600 young people to participate in the league. \ It will be all hands on deck.”
Softball will feature a rookie division-coach pitched, minor league-player pitched, major league and a senior league.
Baseball will feature seven different age groups with the most noticeable change in the t-ball program. There will be two divisions of t-ball this year: Pee Wee for three and four-year-old children and advanced t-ball for five and six-year-old children. Carrie Seasor, VP of softball explained, “In the advanced t-ball at the beginning of the season, they will get three or four coach-pitched balls whether they swing or not and then have the chance to hit on the tee. We are still working on the logistics of the rules, but by the end of the year we want there to be three outs in the inning and teach them how to rotate through. We want them to be prepared to move into the next level of play and know where all the bases are and to realize that not everyone will hit the ball every time.”
All three ball complexes will be used during the season. Plans are to have certain divisions playing on set days each week to prevent baseball and softball from overlapping on the same field. Carrie Seasor continued, “We are going to try to keep it as simple as possible. This will help with field management. If we had to set the field for a baseball game and then immediately reset for a softball game, it just wouldn’t be feasible.”
Jarred Seasor, secretary and equipment manager added, “I’ve done some rough math. With baseball, softball, and t-ball and the many divisions of each group, I anticipate there will be approximately 1,300 games played this year.”
Tryouts are set for Feb. 24 and 25. The location and times are still to be determined. Registration was opened in Jan. and will continue through Feb. 25 at the close of tryouts. You can register for all divisions online at: www.606littleleague.com.
Opening night will be April 12 with all division of the league playing games Saturday, April 13. Black stated, “This is the only Saturday that all divisions will be playing this season.”
David Salisbury, Boyd County Commissioner commented, “This is a very exciting time for the youth of our county. It is something that has been a long time coming, and I am excited about the possibilities.”
Black’s final thoughts on the new season and the new league is very simple, “Buckle up and enjoy the ride!”
If you are interested in coaching or participating in any way with the league or have any questions you can email