The Phillie Phanatic at a recent opening day ceremony of Chestnut Hill Youth Sports Club's baseball season.

by Brendan Sample

With its Opening Day coming up this weekend, the Chestnut Hill Youth Sports Club baseball teams are looking forward to another memorable season in 2017. With its recent volunteer efforts, the club officially becoming a member of Ripken Baseball and plans set up to visit France, the organization has a lot to look forward to this season.

Opening Day festivities will begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, April 15, with the first game starting at around 10:15. Both the minor and major leagues will be playing, and the full slate of games is expected to last until at least 2 p.m. As in previous years, the Phillie Phanatic will be making an appearance, and there will also be refreshments and a DJ providing live music throughout the day.

Though the first pitch of the season has yet to be thrown, the CHYSC has already had some notable accomplishments leading into Opening Day. After months of work, the club is now officially a part of Ripken Baseball as of March. As a member of the organization, the teams will be able to participate in tournaments and compete for both national and international titles. CHYSC Baseball Commissioner Brian Tilley expressed his excitement for this new opportunity.

“This new relationship is going to be a great thing for the kids,” Tilley said. “It’s going to give them a lot of great baseball opportunities through fun and competitive tournaments over the long term. There’s a focus on the community mission of baseball, and kids that are looking for travel experience will get it. It’s just the perfect mix for what we’re trying to do.”

In addition to joining Ripken, the club also recently put on its annual Community Cleanup Day on April 8. The main event on this day was driving out to Harleysville to donate more than a decade’s worth of equipment to Pitch In For Baseball, a nonprofit organization that sends baseball equipment to youth baseball teams around the world. Over the past two years, volunteers have helped to clear out the CHYSC’s equipment room of more than 100 helmets, 150 bats, shin guards, chest plates and more – all of which are in good condition but simply hadn’t been used. Instead of throwing everything away, they decided to put it all to good use and donate what they didn’t need.

“The kids will help unload it to the company and will learn about where it’s going,” Tilley said of the event the day before it happened. “It’ll be a great moment for the club to see the equipment getting donated.”

Looking beyond Opening Day, the CHYSC will once again be crossing paths with the Savigny Lions, a French youth team that visited Chestnut Hill last year. This time around, the Chestnut Hill teams will get the chance to experience a new culture and environment, as they will have two full days of sightseeing in addition to their games. With the majority of kids and families that hosted French players last year going to France this year, it’s set to be a memorable reunion that will still provide something almost entirely new.

“We’re really trying to make this exchange a tradition now,” Tilley said. “The whole idea is to just keep going forward on this.”

Though the trip is already set, the club is still looking to do some fundraising to help cover the costs. The biggest fundraiser will be Cow Chip Bingo at the Water Tower at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 29  Despite the name, this event will not be traditional bingo, as it will focus on a cow roaming around the outfield and stopping on specific spots. Instead of filling out a card and waiting to get five in a row, those who participate will get a specifically assigned spot. Whatever spot the cow stops on, the person holding that ticket wins. Burgers and hot dogs will also be served, and tickets are $20 each.

With plenty of strides having already been made and even more to look forward to in the near future, the club will certainly have plenty of reasons to be excited when the teams open on Saturday.

“It’s really all about celebrating the day and everything we’ve accomplished over the past year,” Tilley said.