Clearing up confusion surrounding Nitro Little League baseball

NITRO, W.Va. (WSAZ) - A group of parents in Nitro voiced concerns about their kids’ upcoming Little League season during a recent City Council meeting.

Nitro Mayor Dave Casebolt and Nitro High School Principal Jason Redman said they wanted to clarify what’s happening.

“I think it’s just that the controversy was really just misunderstanding or people jumping to conclusions, because honestly we haven’t set, we haven’t made a final decision on anything,” Redman said.

The confusion centers around where the high school teams will play and if they’re taking playing time away from little leaguers.

Casebolt said there will be even more access to the fields for little leaguers.

“This year, the Little League will have access to four fields,” he said. “So because of that, they will gain more than 400 more hours of playing time that they did not have last year.”

Redman said he’s hopeful the softball team will be playing on a field in city park by springtime. However, whether they are or not, he said in no way should it affect little league playing time.

“It’s my understanding they don’t practice or play games until six, and our summer practices do go to 6:30, but I think that’s just a scheduling thing where we need to look at the schedule and make sure we’re off,” Redman said.

The Nitro Little League Board shared this statement:

“Nitro Little League is looking forward to working with the city of Nitro and Nitro High School on the committee that’s being formed to improve city park for little leaguers, Andrew Jackson Middle School, Nitro High School, and the community.”

Redman said he’s planning to meet with the Little League Board next Monday.