The Niverville Youth Baseball Association is well into another baseball season and its programs continue to grow. As the programs have expanded, the diamonds at Hespeler Park have gotten busier and busier, both during the week and the weekend.

“It’s great to watch all of these athletes develop and to see their excitement for the game of baseball,” says Ken Kwaitkowski of the Niverville Youth Baseball Association. “In addition to our many league teams, several players have pursued and solidified positions on [the region’s] high-performance teams and we wish all of these players good luck as they pursue their passion for the game.”

Several improvements have been made to the diamonds over the past couple of years, and this spring was no different. Last year, the infield material on three out of the four Hespeler Park diamonds was replaced by the Town of Niverville, improving the playing surface from both a quality and safety perspective.

Another notable project this spring included adding infrastructure for two new batting cages, installed by DACO Piling. To date, one net has been purchased and installed, with a second on order.

Other improvements include the purchase of pitching screens and in-ground base pad supports, and in the summer the town will also add covered dugouts to all the diamonds, allowing Niverville to host provincial tournaments in the future.

“We would like to thank everyone for the many donations received to see this through to completion,” says Kwiatkowski. “Major donations were received from BSI Insurance, Adult Slo-Pitch league, Von Ast Construction, and the Niverville Curling Club. Many individual donations were received as well. Without these types of gracious donations, these improvements would not be possible and the Niverville Youth Baseball Association would like to take the time to thank all of our sponsors, large and small, for all of their support.”

In particular, the Niverville Youth Baseball Association is grateful to the Niverville Credit Union, for once again sponsoring a full complement of new jerseys. Kwiatkowski says the jerseys look great and the players are really enjoying them.

Niverville will be hosting two tournaments this year. A U11 tournament with 16 teams will be played Friday, June 1 and Saturday, June 2. A U13 tournament with 12 teams will be played Friday, June 8 and Saturday, June 9.