Baseball and softball are sports that never strike out in the hearts of Pickerington residents.
From the programs offered at Pickerington schools to the Pickerington Parks and Recreation Department and more, there are opportunities for everyone to pick up a ball, glove and a bat and try their hand at America’s favorite pastime.
Young Sluggers
The Pickerington Youth Athletic Association (PYAA) is host to a wide variety of youth sports, including softball and baseball leagues open to students pre-K through high school. Players are separated into groups based on their grade levels, with the youngest players starting off on tees and with coach pitch before moving up to the middle and high school levels.
The PYAA softball league is an instructional league, so no prior experience is necessary to join.
“PYAA softball has created a unique learning experience for our young athletes to build foundational skills in softball while also developing friendships, leadership and confidence,” says Adrianne Ward, president of PYAA softball. “Many of our coaches used to be baseball or softball players who have a passion for the sport and are trying to pass that lifetime love of the game down to girls in the Pickerington community.”
While the typical softball season runs in the spring and into the summer, PYAA hosts softball clinics throughout the year and has a fall ball season.
PYAA also hosts the Junior Baseball League for youth baseball players. Like the softball league, players are separated out by grade levels from pre-K through high school.
Team names are picked from favorite MLB teams such as the Reds, the Pirates and the Astros.
Home games are played at the PYAA Sports Complex and rotate through the eight fields on site.
High School Hitters
When Pickerington High School North first opened in 2003, Molly Feesler moved there as a math teacher and softball coach, leading the softball program to the school’s first-ever final four state tournament appearance in any sport.
Now, the team is led by head varsity coach Sarah Looker. Looker is preparing for her 10th season as coach for PHSN but reflects back to the 2003 team success that started the school’s softball program off on a great foot.
“They were sectional champions, district champions and they were also regional champions who made it to the state final four the first year that Pickerington North opened,” she says.
The Pickerington High School Central softball team is led by head coach Stephanie Peterson, and despite the 2020 spring season ending abruptly due to COVID-19, all three 2020 graduating seniors on the team committed to play softball at their respective universities.
Both the PHSN and PHSC varsity and JV softball teams are in the middle of their 2021 seasons which began in March. In the world of high school baseball, both PHSN and PHSC have impressive records.
Tim Thomas has served as the head varsity baseball coach at PHSN since 2006. Since the program was established in 2004, PHSN baseball boasts 15 winning seasons out of its 16 total seasons, plus an OHSAA state championship win in 2016.
PHSC baseball is led by head coach Colin Wilson, a Pickerington High School alum. This will be Wilson’s third season as head coach.
In addition to the high school varsity and JV teams, both high schools offer junior high programs for seventh- and eighth-graders who want to try their hand at softball and baseball.
Adults at Bat
For those over the age of 18, an adult softball league is offered by the city’s parks department.
The goal of offering the softball leagues is to provide a fun, competitive environment to let residents continue playing a sport they love. It’s also a great way to build community, as a majority of players are Pickerington residents.
The deadline to register for the spring/summer league is April 2. Games begin May 3 and the deadline to register for the fall league is July 9 with games beginning Aug. 1. Players can register as a team, but the parks department also offers free agent registration for those looking to join a team. If enough free agents register, a new team will be created. If there aren’t enough to field an entire team, their contact information is also emailed to team managers in hopes of being picked up.
Batter up!
Sanaya Attari is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
