SPORTS

CLCF softball opens season

Posted 4/21/21

By ALEX SPONSELLER The CLCF girls youth softball season got underway last weekend when many locals gathered to open things at Brayton Ave. Between players, parents, league volunteers, as well as many local figures such as Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins, it

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SPORTS

CLCF softball opens season

Posted

By ALEX SPONSELLER The CLCF girls youth softball season got underway last weekend when many locals gathered to open things at Brayton Ave.

Between players, parents, league volunteers, as well as many local figures such as Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins, it was a community event that celebrated the return of softball after another unusual winter.

“It was great to get back, with the kids being locked down and not being able to go to school, it was great for them. The rain did not bother the kids. They were playing, having scrimmages, had a hit and run competition. It did not bother them and they had a lot of fun doing it,” said CLCF Softball Chairman Dave Feole. “People are really excited to get out and move on from the pandemic. Parents are excited to get their kids outside and involved in youth sports.”

Feole and company also appreciated the support from the Cranston and state politicians who made the trip.

“It was great to have the dignitaries there, it was a great showing. They were all super excited to come out when they got the call, they were all enthusiastic about getting out there and supporting the kids and families,” said Feole.

Prior to the start of activities, the board at CLCF also handed out its Jaxon Marocco memorial scholarship. This year’s recipient was Cranston West senior Brenna Whittaker, who has been a member of the CLCF organization since she was little and volunteers in various groups in the state, including coaching in CLCF.

“It was great to give it to Brenna Whitaker. She’s been in our program since she was 5 years old and graduated this year. She’ll be off to play for Emmanuel College and further her softball and academic career. She’s a homegrown player that was a big part of our program so it was pretty cool,” said Feole.

As the league prepares to welcome its kids back and return to normalcy, Feole also hopes to see the CLCF travel programs have the opportunity to play outside of the state once again.

Due to the pandemic, kids were unable to travel outside of state lines last summer, which Feole hopes to see change this time around.

“We’re hoping the state will open the travel restrictions a bit. It will be great to allow our travel team to foruish and face some out of state competition. Caroline Crudale has also done a great job of promoting our rec program as well. We are up about 75 kids over the past two years,” said Feole.

CLCF’s rec program has also been on a steady rise despite the pandemic and has welcomed roughly 75 new faces over the past two seasons. Between field renovations and a solid staff of workers, Feole feels that the CLCF program is in a good place and will only continue to improve down the road.

“We’ve updated the fields in the complex, we’ve brought in some great coaches, some great volunteers, we just have a lot of great people involved that have really helped us out.”

CLCF, baseball, softball, sports

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