SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — It rained about two inches last night in South Williamsport. It may not sound like much, but there are a lot of baseball fields to take care of at the Little League World Series, and they also need to look good. The grounds crew was busy on Friday morning.
Each morning, members of the Little League World Series grounds crew prepare the fields for the daily games. But on this day, there was extra work to do because of rain the night before.
"This morning, we're doing all the work we typically do at night—as we call it, putting the field to bed—taking off all the old material, cleaning up, repairing the pitcher's mound and home plate," explained Alan Wilson, a member of the grounds crew.
Crews put tarps on Lamade and Volunteer Stadiums as soon as it started raining, which it did a lot.
"This field drains very well, so the grass areas we don't really have a problem with dispersing the water onto the grass. It's the dirt areas that require the work. So, we try to cover them as soon as we can," Wilson said.
"You have to get that all done in a short amount of time and get that all taken care of before the teams get on there," said crew member Alyssa Harlacher.
There is no grounds crew for the hill at Lamade Stadium. It was pretty wet, but that did not stop people from setting up their chairs.
"It's a little bit soggy up here at the top where the water sits, but when you're sitting down, it's perfect conditions," Brian Shaner said.
As for the kids sliding down the hill, a little mud didn't stop them.
"My cardboard stopped all the way up there, and I just kept going! But yeah, we're having fun," Wyatt Devlin said.
Check out the full schedule of games HERE.
Find more great Little League Baseball information at the official Little League World Series site or on the Little League World Series Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Drivers traveling to the LLWS in Williamsport are encouraged to plan their trip using the real-time travel and alternate-route information available online at www.511PA.com/LLWS.
Watch the Little League World Series Grand Slam Parade on WNEP's YouTube channel: