Little League makes a comeback to Lincoln

Lincoln's newly formed Little League team began practicing just a few short weeks ago with nearly 30 players, and they'll play their first game April 19.

Shane Smith, who had been driving his son to Helena to play for three years, said some parents and volunteers got together this spring to try to coordinate a Lincoln team.

"It was just an idea we started throwing around to other people to see if we could get Little League started up here," said Smith, who is coaching the eight to ten year old players.

"Initially, we went to the Helena Babe Ruth Association to see if Lincoln could bring over teams to play in their age brackets. They kinda gave us a one year trial," Smith said, adding, "In the meantime, we also contacted Helmville, Drummond, and Augusta to see if we can pick up some other games, like a Blackfoot League."

Although Augusta already has their own league, Smith said they were still open to playing some games with Lincoln. Dates for games with Helmville and Drummond are still being finalized.

Lincoln's Little League team is set to play twenty games between now and early June when the season ends. Being part of the Helena Babe Ruth Association also gives players the chance to participate on the all-star team that travels around the state to play tournaments during the summer.

"Every kid that joins is automatically invited to try out for an all-star team that happens after the league season," Smith said.

In addition to the two older teams, there is a T-ball league and a machine pitch league for younger players. These teams are set to start practice the week of April 12 with games to begin the following week.

Smith said they worked with Helena to get five home games in Lincoln for the players. The games will have concessions, the proceeds of which will go back to the teams.

"I think it would be neat if when we have our home games, people in the community would come out and support the kids," said Dave Carroll, who is coaching the 11-13 year old players.

Although Lincoln has had baseball teams in the past, this is the first time many of the current students will be playing the sport on an organized team.

"I think it's going to be really good for the community for all these kids to get out and learn and play the game and have fun," said Smith, noting he's most excited to be teaching the kids about the fundamentals of the sport.

"Most the kids, whatever level they started out playing this year, it's their first time playing. Just to bring that joy and excitement out to them and watching them learn daily, that's exciting," Smith said.

Carroll echoed those sentiments.

"This is the first year bringing organized baseball into the kids' lives. This is our kickoff year. The kids are great to work with and eager to learn how to do things, proper techniques, and they're having a lot of fun," said Carroll.

Carroll and Smith both mentioned that the level of support from the community has been impressive.

"So far we've had great financial support from our sponsors. We're going to have a banner made up honoring the sponsors, so that'll be up on the fence at the games. People have really been generous. That's been great, just the support and the excitement people have for getting this going," said Carroll.

"We've had donations from just about everybody. For the older teams, the sponsors paid for that whole team to join the Helena League. It was very, very nice of the sponsors to do," said Smith, adding that community members have pulled together to volunteer, too.

"The biggest thing to keep the sport going is having a great group of volunteers that want to see the program succeed," said Smith.