League completes season; enters All-Star postseason
By Hector Trujillo
Scripps Ranch Little League celebrated its 50th anniversary with a gala on Saturday, June 7 at a local restaurant, with door prizes for the approximately 60 families that attended.
Among those present were past and current presidents along with board members, as the regular season and league playoffs having already concluded by the time of the celebration.
“This is not a spectator sport, and our volunteers do a great job of keeping everything running smoothly,” said Scripps Ranch Little League President Ron Madrid.
This is Madrid’s first year as president after having served as a board member the previous six years. He took over for Avi Barat who was league president the three years previous and now serves as a member at large on the board.
“For me, it’s all about being part of a community that helps out the kids – from playing T-ball to watching them move on to intermediate and juniors,” Barat said.
This season did not come without challenges, however, with parks sometimes being closed or unavailable due to renovations taking place – which also happened last year.
“We had a challenge managing everything with fewer fields,” Madrid explained. “We did have a great opening day with all the kids having a great time throughout. Our numbers are consistent with how we’ve been the last several years as far as enrollment.”
Scripps Ranch Little League also continued with its Challenger Program, which provides children of all ages dealing with physical or developmental disabilities the ability to get immersed in the experience of Little League competition.
Scripps Ranch Little League is one of a handful of leagues in District 32 that provides this type of program, with volunteers serving as on-field assistants. These are mainly members of the Scripps Ranch High School baseball and softball teams.
“It’s a really cool program,” Madrid said. “It provides a good volunteer opportunity for the high school kids.”
Some Scripps Ranch Little League All-Star teams are competing in postseason district tournaments with hopes of advancing to sectionals, state, regional tournaments and possibly beyond.
Scripps Ranch Little League is a baseball organization for children of ages 4 to 16 who live in the 92131 ZIP code area during the spring and fall seasons.
Visit scrippsranchll.org.