It’s time to play ball in local communities again.
Buckhead’s Northside Youth Organization and Sandy Springs Youth Sports celebrated their baseball and softball Opening Days March 13, while Brookhaven’s Murphey Candler Baseball and Muphey Candler Girls Softball Association were already underway. And Dunwoody’s ball fields were busy with high school baseball.
Amid the pandemic, mask-wearing was optional for players in the four leagues but required for most everyone else. Sandy Springs had volunteers checking temperatures at the gates and Murphey Candler board members monitored mask-wearing compliance.
Photos by Phil Mosier
NYO
NYO marked Opening Day at Chastain Park with balloons and other decorations, but no parade or celebration of teams in another pandemic season. Teams greeted each other after games by waving rather than high-fives or fist bumps. Among the games was a Rookie League pre-season match where the Orioles beat the Dodgers, 16-14.
Ashley Reinhardt decorates the fields with balloons. Reinhardt’s twin boys Henry and Jackson play for the Orioles. 
Head Coach Charles Elrod, left, gives the Orioles a pre-game pep talk. 
On the bench waiting to bat in the first inning are, from left, Tripp Hass, Jack Elrod, Ellison Elrod and Quinn Entrekin. 
Wilson Clayton forces an out on third base to end the first inning. 
Looking on, from left, are team managers Amy Clayton and Christen Entrekin, who carries daughter Olivia, 1. 
Ellison Elrod at bat. 
From left, Orioles teammates Anna Kate, Tripp Hass, Ellison Elrod and Malcolm Klein tip their hats to congratulate the Dodgers on their victory.
Sandy Springs Youth Baseball
Sandy Springs Youth Baseball celebrated Opening Day at the Morgan Falls Sports Complex with a parade and a visit from the mayor.
The Tar Heels team members line up before the parade and team introductions. The Tar Heels are in the softball 10 and Under division. 
Stella Galahti, eighth-grader at Davis Academy, sings the national anthem. 
Volunteers Mary Ellen Evangelista, right front, and daughter Ellen, far right, check the temperatures of spectators as they enter Morgan Falls Sports Complex. 
Mayor Rusty Paul greets the teams, parents and fans to start another season.
Murphey Candler Softball
In 8 and Under division softball play at Brookhaven’s Murphey Candler Park March 13, the Blue Kryptonite beat the Blue Jays, 15-14.
Anna Goff goes to bat for the Blue Jays. 
Blue Jays Assistant Coaches Brandon Smith, rear left, and Jamie Smith, rear right, give the team a pre-game pep talk. 
While waiting to bat for the Blue Jays with, from left, teammates Ivy Kolersohn and Laney Grafton, Brooklyn McKinzey pulls off her mask. 
The Blue Jays’ Laney Grafton takes a swing. 
Hayden Barnes of the Blue Jays gets ready to play.
Dunwoody Wildcats
In a March 15 game at Brook Run Park, the Dunwoody High Wildcats tied with Westminster Schools, 7-7. That put Dunwoody at 2-0-1 for the season as they headed to their next game March 21 against St. Pius X.
The Dunwoody Wildcats warm up before the game. 
Matt Pearch, left, helps teammate Danny Boden apply eye black. 
Wildcat John Kosobud, left, talks with Pitching Coach Wes Bancroft. 
Wildcats line up in the dugout to watch teams at bat. 
Zach Paulling takes a swing for the Wildcats. 
Watching the game are Wildcats Head Coach Alan Pitt, rear, and Pitching Coach Wes Bancroft, front.