A few weeks back I wrote an article that featured the old home of Auburn Little League Baseball, Thomas Park. On Wednesday night, my son Ethan and I had the chance to go to the new home of Auburn Little League, Rieke Park, and take in a couple of fun games.
Both games featured 9-10 year old all-star teams, in what is called the “District Ten President’s Tournament.” On one field, one Auburn team was hosting a team from Leo, and on the other field, a different Auburn team was hosting a team from Don Ayres (Homestead area).
I had a rooting interest in both games, as in the game with the Leo team, a friend of mine who works at CK Technologies, Matt Obrien, his son Mike was the starting catcher. The other game had Dekalb’s baseball coach, Chris Rhodes as an interested spectator, as his son Easton was playing shortstop.
Both games had their ups & downs, as well as ebb & flow, but for 9-10 year old’s, I saw some pretty good baseball. I kept going back and forth between the fields just so I could enjoy the action from each contest.
If you haven’t been out to Rieke Park, take an evening to stop by and have an enjoyable time in an enjoyable atmosphere. It has developed into a very nice & comfortable facility. League President Mike Stafford and his core of volunteers have done a tremendous job in helping to make this one of the top-notch facilities in NE Indiana.
When the evening was winding down, and the sun was setting off to the west, Leo rallied for 4 runs in the bottom of the last inning to eke out a 13-12 win, and to move on in pool play.I said my good-byes to Matt and his family, and I hurried over to the other field to watch the last half inning of a solid 7-3 win for Auburn.
Mike & Easton both played well for their respective teams, and most importantly, seemed to have fun, and to enjoy themselves while doing so.
No truer words were ever spoken when we say that “Little League Baseball is about the kids.”