HERNANDO, MS -
(WMC-TV) - Play Ball! After some uncertainty in Hernando, Mississippi baseball leagues will stay after an agreement between the city and the parks' owners.
These fields are home to literally hundreds of young ballplayers. But when the program's director retired last spring, many wondered about the future of the sport.
Action News 5 learned the city will lease the grounds so this spring, kids will be ready to hit the field.
"As a child I played softball here a couple of years and I have three children, and all three of my children have played ball here and one of my children is still in the program right now," said Melissa Zizzman, who lives in Hernando, Mississippi.
Last spring, the program's director left after years of service, leaving the grounds to the Saddle Club, the Lions Club, and the Rotary Club.
"Nobody knew what was going to happen. It was all kinds of rumors about who's going to run the program? Who is going to help maintain the fields? What are we going to do? It was just kind of the unknown part was what was unsettling," said Zizzman.
The three groups will lease the fields to the city for just $1 to keep kids running the bases in this active town.
Now that the parks department is taking over, parents are excited about the future.
"It's going to be great that we're going to be able to run the program generally the way we run some of our other programs, we're going to be doing background checks for coaches, we'll be making sure the concession stands are up to health code and we'll be making improvements to the grounds and fields, just doing a facelift," Zizzman explained.
The city says they will hold a volunteer day for folks in the community to roll up their sleeves and help make improvements to the grounds.
No date has been set yet.
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