ATHOL — It wasn’t the easiest offseason for Chuck Stone Little League.
A winter storm destroyed the fence in right field at James H. Salevan Field in Athol. CSLL repaired its home field through donations of labor and money. A new mound was installed on the field and a massive cleanup took place on Saturday. Now, baseball can start.
The season is set to begin on Saturday at 8 a.m. with a parade of all members of the four CSLL teams: the Lions, VFW, the Legion and the Rotary Club. The parade will begin at the Athol Area YMCA on Main Street and will move onto Exchange Street and then onto Pequoig Avenue, where Salevan Field is located.
CSLL will then perform its opening-day ceremonies, followed by two games to start the season. Opening ceremonies will include a brief thanking of the helpers and volunteers, and presentation of the volunteer of the year award. Red Sox tickets were donated to the league. CSLL will raffle off four tickets to the Athletics-Red Sox game on May 14 at Fenway Park.
The first game of the season will be a rematch of the 2017 championship: the undefeated defending champion Lions against VFW at 9 a.m. The Legion will face off against the Rotary Club at 11:30 a.m.
With only two teams in the Orange Little League, CSLL will host and travel to games against OLL this season. OLL will host games at Muzzy Field.