Merger will make Tri-Cities youth baseball stronger

When umpires yell "Play Ball" this spring, Meadowdale Little League players will be batting under a new banner.

The one that flew over Carpentersville ball diamonds for more than 51 years was retired late last year. It will be replaced by the Tri-Cities Little League flag, which has served East and West Dundee since 1953.

Both youth organizations merged into one baseball club that will cover all of Dundee Township and portions of Algonquin, Gilberts, and Barrington.

The decision to bring the two together was logical and will ensure youth baseball continues in all of the Northern Fox Valley, said Craig Slack, Tri-Cities president.

"The merger will helps us both out. We have more players than fields and they had more fields than players," he said. "As more families were moving from the eastern part of Carpentersville to western towns, Meadowdale was losing players and they were not being replaced."

Last year, 170 kids signed up to play baseball for Meadowdale while 700 kids registered for Tri-Cities, he said. Now, all of them will play for one Little League organization when the season starts April 18.

"Over the past several years, the (Meadowdale) League has been hit with declining enrollment, fewer sponsors and donors, increased expenses and financial pressure, aging facilities and equipment, fewer volunteers and more competition," former Meadowdale President Christopher Cimaglio stated in a news release. "Coupled with economic issues our area is facing, it became clear to our board of directors this past season that we either merge with another league or the Meadowdale Little League would have ceased operating.

"Simply put, (Tri-Cities teams) are the answer to our prayers."

Tri-Cities players range in age from 5 to 18. Their games were played at the four Dundee Township Park District fields behind Dundee Middle School and at South End Park in West Dundee. Scheduling games was always a challenge and making up games that were rained out was a problem.

"The nice thing about it is we'll have four more fields to play on," Slack said. "Before, we had a hard time scheduling games with the space Tri-Cities had."

"Yes, we'll have more space, but we'll follow the plan we have used in the past to group players on teams by age and the neighborhoods where they live," Slack said.

Meadowdale volunteers and coaches have been invited to work with Tri-Cities, Cimaglio said.

Registration has already begun for the 2009 season. Families can register online at www.tri-citiesll.com or call Slack at (847) 997-2036 for more information.