If You Build It, They Will Come
The groundbreaking ceremony for long awaited recreation fields and a village park will be Wednesday, May 22 from 5:30 - 7 p.m. There will be hot dogs, and a baseball exhibition by local youth. Ocracoke Community Park is at the end of Maurice Ballance Road, about half way down Middle Road. Everyone is welcome.
Ocracoke's three baseball and one T-Ball team currently play home games on the Burruss Field in Buxton. Next year, they will have their own field to call home.
The Blue Claws are all seven to nine years old, and play in the Cal Ripkin youth league. Most of them put on their first mitts just a year or two ago. That didn't stop them from neatly beating the competition on a recent Tuesday.
In the top of the first, Blue Claw fielders picked up three outs at first base on the first three hits. Every player was in a professional-looking stance and focused on the batter. More remarkable, the young players continued to field with the same intensity for all six innings.
Blue Claw fielders Alyssa Bryan and Daniela DeLao dropped their matching pink mitts and busted out some spontaneous push ups while awaiting the next batter.
Jackson Strange led off for the Blue Claws. He made it to third after a grounder by Chandler O'Neal zipped into the outfield between first and second. Jackson touched home plate after a hit by Max Elicker. Hayden Austin's double helped Chandler and Max round the bases, opening up a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
A few minutes later Daymon Esham came up to bat with the bases loaded and two outs. He was all business as he tapped the base with his bat and squared up. He hit it deep past second, and everyone rounded the bases.
Since I am new to baseball, I relied on Daymon's older brother, Dylan, who plays with the Raptors, to explain the rules. Five runs per team are allowed before the inning changes, in the Blue Claw league. The Raptors play by different rules.
"With one kid in one league, and one in another, it's tough to keep the rules straight," confessed one mom.
Watching the 10 - 12 year old Raptors is a whole different game and level of play, spectators told me.
The Raptors do their own pitching and can lead off and steal bases.
Many dads were coaching, which involved a fair bit of reminding players to drop the bat after hits, and pick it back up as they headed to the dug out. The players call coach Newt Sharber "Noodles Sherbet." They gather around him before the final inning for an inspirational talk.
Whisper Meacham seemed to surprise herself with a hit that popped up and split the difference between the shortstop and pitcher. "Run, run, run!" the fans reminded her. She made it to first, looking slightly chagrined, and got congratulations from first base coach Jason Elicker.
The Threshers never mounted a threat to the Blue Claw lead, but their players had big smiles on their faces. One idle outfielder entertained himself by repeatedly tossing his glove high in the air.
Max Elicker was proud to receive the game ball after catching several fly balls near third, including one that went close to the sun before landing neatly in his glove. Catcher Chandler threw off his mask and slapped Max an exuberant high five.
"Write that down!" one mom told me. "That was definitely a Sports Illustrated moment."
Parents and players car pool several times a week for the games, at times arriving home as late as midnight before the Hatteras ferry's summer schedule kicked in. I didn't stay for the Raptors game, and rode back in the same car, but with a different set of kids. Once homework was completed, the players and their siblings were free to use the ferry ride to socialize. Most everyone but the driver was asleep by the time the car rolled into the village.
Next year players and parents will ride home on bikes and in golf carts. Many will even live close enough to walk.
