WORCESTER—It’s a whole new ballgame for players, coaches and families in the Joe Schwartz Little League.
Joined by city officials, the league held a ribbon cutting ceremony on July 25 to celebrate the completion of a full-scale field renovation project at Indian Hill Park. The main focus of the project was the renovation of the main softball field as well a secondary diamond used for the league’s co-ed instructional division.
The refurbished venue also includes new dugouts, a modern scoreboard with field signage, the addition of bullpens, a picnic area and the installation of a playground.
“The city’s investment in the upgrade of Indian Hill Park is an investment in the children of this community,” said outgoing Joe Schwartz president Patrick Jones. “Above all else, Little League helps to shape the physical, mental, and emotional development of young people.”
Between the renovated fields at Indian Hill and the three baseball fields at Kendrick Field, the Joe Schwartz Little League serves close to 300 children each spring and summer through softball and baseball.
Jones has served on the Joe Schwartz board for more than 12 years. All four of his children have played in the league, umpired games and worked in the concession stand. His wife Kim Stone has also been a board member as well as leading concession stand operations.
“I am thrilled to be here and excited for all that the future holds for our league and its players right here at Indian Hill Park,” said Jones, who wraps up his tenure as president this summer.
The dormant concession stand at the facility also got some recent sprucing up thanks to a volunteer effort. It had stood unused since the fall of 2019, first due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then due to the fields being offline for the improvement project. A parent of a player, Ryan Hayes, a Worcester firefighter and part-time plumber, donated his time to redo the plumbing. Sean Lee, the league’s head of softball, along with his wife Jenny, helped organize a group of volunteers from CarMax of Westborough to empty out and cleanup the concession stand.
With the completion of the new fields at Indian Hill, Worcester adds to its already impressive collection of youth softball fields including those at Vernon Hill Park and Rockwood Field.
Mike Vigneux is a freelance writer in Worcester with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of municipal government, communications, and public relations. An avid fan of all sports, Mike enjoys telling the stories of local athletes and their teams. He holds two degrees from Clark University, a bachelor of arts in Communication and a master of science in Professional Communication. He can be reached at Mikevigs@gmail.com
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