A senseless act of willful destruction has put little league ball players wanting to improve their batting skills on the bench for a while.
It started with wrecking a picnic table, then a few destroyed placards, and finally demolishing the batting cage at Andy Belisky Park last month.
Despite inquiries, the identities of the malcontents remain unknown.
“They must have been hanging from it because they destroyed all the framing,” said Len Snary, chief umpire for Trail Little League.
“We were going to replace the netting this year but now we’ll have to replace the whole bat cage.”
The cost of a new cage will be around $5,000.
The league has applied to host the Little League Provincials next year and are expecting the head of Little League B.C. to inspect the facility at the end of the month.
“We got to replace that batting cage by then, and we just ordered our new score clock and that’s another $7,000 so we’re hoping sponsors will help us out with that.”
Snary moved to the area about four years ago and was instrumental in organizing umpires for Trail Little League.
Hosting the provincials would be another feather in the ball cap of the Silver City, as it would bring 18 teams and approximately 800 people to the area for a week.
Organizers hope the absence of the batting cage will not detract from the bid.
“We want to get that batting cage in there this year. We’d like to see it this year but if we don’t get it in this year, we’ll definitely have to have it for next year,” said Snary.
The veteran umpire has not seen a problem at the park until the recent streak of destruction.
He admits the park can use some work and is counting on the city to make upgrades.