MANCHESTER TWP., Pa. - Last fall, York Little League faced an uncertain future after Shipley Field, their home field for decades, closed.
On Saturday, they held Opening Day for a new season at their new home of Crist Fields. It's a different experience, players say, but given the prior uncertainty, they're eager to take the field once again.
"Yeah I'm pretty excited always excited when baseball comes around," Gavin Lanasa, a player, said. "At least we get to play ball somewhere."
"It's definitely different because at Shipley they had a wall but here they don't," Joey Vevivino, who plays for the York Little League Phillies, added. "It's still a baseball field, so that's all that matters."
While some players held the eternal optimism of a major leaguer that a solution could be found, others were a bit worried that they would not be able to play ball anymore.
"I thought that baseball was going to be over for York Little League, and then we found these and I was completely excited," Gavin Landis, who plays for the York Little League Pirates, said.
But after Shipley Field closed, York Little League, now led by president Garth Landis, came to an agreement with Pleasureville Youth Club to play games at Crist Fields.
"It's a huge relief to us," Landis said. "We have over 250 kids that play in our league and having room like this and having a great partnership with them is really important, so it was a big weight lifted off of us."