The 8th annual Baseball Day in Orillia event was held Saturday night at McKinnell Square Park.
Typically, the July event hosts 8-10 teams from various baseball organizations around the city who play baseball and slo-pitch all day long in a fundraising effort for the Orillia Sports Hall of Fame. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, things were different this year.
“We didn’t have anything planned for this year, but there were a lot of players who felt that if we could keep the spirit of Baseball Day going and it was able to be done safely, they wanted to proceed,” said John Hammill, a board member for Sport Orillia and Baseball Day in Orillia organizer.
This year's event featured a nine-inning slo-pitch game and a homerun derby between two local men's league teams, Wagner Lawn Care and Studabakers, who have faced off against each other on Baseball Day since its inception.
“Obviously, everyone’s health is the top priority. Once we figured out the government and Slo Pitch National rules and safety guidelines, we were able to field the two teams safely and carry on the tradition,” Hammill explained.
“Everyone would have understood if we had to skip a year, but it was nice that we had enough interest to still have at least one game.”
Hammill says the highlight of the night was having five sets of fathers and sons playing between the two teams, which calls attention to the spirit of the event.
Typically, the annual event raises anywhere from $1,000 to $2,500 for the Orillia Sports Hall of Fame. With condensed participation this year, participants still managed to raise over $300, which organizers were thrilled with.
Despite coming together at the last minute, the event was successful at least in part thanks to the community partners who were determined to help make the event happen, said Hammill.
“The City of Orillia committed to having the diamond in top shape and provided us with lights for our game ... we are very grateful that they were able to provide us with a safe diamond to play on,” Hammill said.
“We would also like to thank the two sponsors who have been supporting the event from the beginning, Wagner Lawn Care and Studabakers, as well as Metro Orillia who donated prizes for the homerun derby," said Hammill.
Baseball Day in Orillia organizers look forward to beginning their preparations later this winter for a ninth installment of the event that will take place next summer.
