The players will still gather at Verona Park, but when the parade steps off at 10 a.m., they will march west towards the center of town instead of east to Everett Field. VBSL President Rich Williamson says the field hasn’t yet dried from the spring rains, so the organization chose to not have a large crowd gather on it just yet. The VBSL’s opening games won’t be played until the following weekend.
Everett Field is getting new stone bleachers this season, which Williamson says were paid for by the VBSL. The 2015 municipal budget calls for $225,000 to be spent on unspecified parking and field upgrades at Everett as part of the 2018 capital budget*. Verona’s young players will also be getting two new turfed fields on the Hilltop behind the Community Center.
But if you do go to watch the parade, you will be in for two unusual treats. The National Anthem will be sung by Lindsey Rawding, a fifth grader at H.B. Whitehorne Middle School. And the ceremonial first pitch will be thrown by Fred Hill, the Verona resident who was the head coach of Rutgers University baseball from 1984 until his retirement last year. He had a 941-658-7 record in his 30 years at Rutgers, including 11 NCAA regional appearances, 12 regular season conference championships and eight conference tournament titles. “We tried to get him for years,” said Williamson, “but he was always coaching.”
*Note: The proposed spending for Everett appears on page 21 of this year’s budget book but is referenced as being part of the 2018 capital budget.
