Owen Babe Ruth hosts huge opening day
Youth league triples registration in 2022
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
April 2, 2022
The Swannanoa Valley’s youngest baseball and softball players stepped on the diamond, April 2, to kick off the 2022 season, as Owen Babe Ruth Opening Day packed Veterans Park.
Twenty-two teams, ranging from Biddy Ball to 12U, faced off on four fields, with spectators filling the bleachers and sitting in chairs along the fences.
Enrollment for the league tripled this year to 311, according to president Jesse Gardner. The turnout for the season opener was unlike any in recent years.
Owen Babe Ruth includes two softball and baseball teams in each age group from 6U to 10U, while two baseball teams and a single softball squad are represented in 12U. Three co-ed Biddy Ball teams, ages 4 and 5, round out the league.
The teams will represent the local community against Western North Carolina competition this season, but each opened the season by facing off against its league counterpart.
Parents and players arrived at 10 a.m. to receive uniforms and participate in team photos. The first pitch between the 10U softball teams, Hutchins and Core, was delivered at 10:45 a.m. Games began on the surrounding fields minutes later, including a 12:15 p.m. matchup between the 12U baseball teams. The names—Warriors and Dark Horses—are a nod to the mascots of Swannanoa and Black Mountain High Schools, which merged in 1955 to form Owen.
As volunteers coached on the field, others staffed the busy concession stand and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs nearby. The event exceeded parking capacity for Veterans Park, forcing many to leave their vehicles nearby and walk. .
Photos of the 2022 Charles D. Owen Babe Ruth Opening Day can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.