By TIM TAYLORValley Sports Report
SAYRE — Mother Nature couldn’t dampen the spirits of youth baseball and softball players as Sayre Little League began its 75th season with a parade and Opening Day ceremonies at Riverfront Park here Saturday.
League president Paul Blythe noted what an amazing accomplishment it is to achieve the 75-year milestone.
“It's incredible to see that something's had that kind of longevity through
everything we've had in the Valley and everything that's going on, and the
people that have come in and gone,” he said. “The changes that have
happened in the Valley, with Guthrie growing into what it's been into,
Ingersoll Rand and everything that's been in this community for so long, to
have something standing like this for the kids for 75 years is pretty
amazing.”
Nearly 200 youngsters marched into the park and due to overnight rains,
gathered closely in a small area near Terpko Field for the opening ceremony.
“We have 14 teams this year, which is two teams more than we had last
year,” Blythe said. “We actually have 22 more kids registered this year
than last year. We're pretty happy with the turnout.”
The ceremony began with former Sayre Little League player and Major League pitcher Jeff Terpko throwing out the first pitch to current player Andrew Howey and Abby Snyder tossing the first pitch for softball.
Terpko, who played on Sayre’s first district championship team in 1963, was an instant hit with the kids, sticking around to sign numerous autographs for baseball and softball players alike.
Sayre has won seven district titles, starting with Terpko’s team and with
the last one coming in 2016.
“It's pretty amazing to know that this area's got somebody that was homegrown that went from playing Little League baseball to pitching in the Major Leagues, and it's incredible for these little kids to see,” Blythe
said. “The crowd of little guys over there getting autographs from that
gentleman was pretty amazing.”
While field conditions prohibited the ceremony from being held on Terpko
Field, the dedicated effort of several volunteers did allow for some games
to be played later in the day.
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IN PHOTO 1: Former Sayre Little Leaguer and Major Leaguer Jeff Terpko throws out the ceremonial first baseball pitch of the season. IN TOP PHOTO: Sayre's Abby Snyder throws out the ceremonial first softball pitch of the season. ... PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
