NYS Rec Baseball season recap

Niwot Youth Sports had an outstanding spring 2022 season with 31 teams competing in the recreational baseball program.

The season officially kicked off on May 1 with Opening Day festivities, including a visit from Colorado Rockies' mascot Dinger, a bouncy house, refreshments and preseason scrimmages for each team.

Many NYS baseball alumni, including former players, coaches and administrators, were on hand for the ceremony, which included a special presentation about the Monarch Improvement Project. Hangge Fields at Monarch Park in Niwot are due for some upgrades, and fundraising remains underway for a new facility on site to house concessions, storage and permanent restrooms. The project's $500,000 fundraising goal has been partially met, with donations now exceeding $250,000. Tax deductible donations can be made online at http://www.niwotyouthsports.org, or by texting the word "Monarch" to 801801.

Many NYS players and their families took advantage of a beautiful spring day at Coors Field June 4, and watched the Rockies take on the World Champion Braves. Players and coaches walked the outfield prior to the game, proudly wearing their NYS gear, the first time youngsters have been welcomed back on the field since 2019.

The NYS rec baseball season culminated in tournaments for the AAA and Majors divisions, with many close games decided by two runs or less. In the AAA division (9-10 year olds), six teams competed this spring, and the Hooks took the title in three hard-fought games. CoachRichard Fushia's team won the tournament in just three games, thanks to a lot of depth in pitching and several timely hits.

The Majors division (11-12 year olds) was home to four teams this season. The tournament title went to the Yankees, who had to battle and beat the regular-season champion Giants twice during tournament week to win it all. This is the second straight championship for Yankees' coach Ryan Pensy, who won the AAA title in 2021 as well.

In the younger divisions, turnout was strong in the BubbleGum (4-5 year old T-ball), Rookie (5-6 year-old coach pitch/T-ball hybrid) and AA (7-8 year old coach-pitch) leagues with 19 teams playing at Hangge Fields at Monarch Park. In all, over 400 players participated in NYS baseball programs this year, marking the highest turnout the program has seen in a decade.

Looking forward, NYS plans to build on the success of its "sandlot" style baseball league from last season by giving local 9-12 year-old players a fun-filled platform to keep playing baseball ithrough the fall. For more information on the Sandlot program, please reach out to Galen Scheidenhelm at [email protected].