After a long layoff, baseball finally returns to Sarnia this weekend.
The 2020 season was supposed to get underway in May, but was postponed due to COVID-19.
The defending Ontario AAA champion Sarnia Braves will be the first senior team in the province to play this year. They host the Ontario AA runner-up Kincardine Cubs in an exhibition doubleheader Sunday August 9.
Action gets underway at 1 p.m. at Errol Russell Park.
Manager James Grant is excited to get back at it and said GM Sandra Shaw worked closely with the city and Baseball Ontario to make it happen.
"The government guidelines say that you can have 100 people gathered outdoors," he said. "So, we have our 50 on-field personnel and then we'll be allowed to have 50 spectators maximum, socially distanced. We have practice tonight, and we'll look over the ballpark to make sure we have a layout for where everything can go."
Grant said additional safety measures will be in place at the ballpark including placing umpires behind the pitchers' mound, the use of sanitizer and limiting the number of players in the dugout.
Those wishing to attend are asked to email Sandra Shaw at sshaw3@cogeco.ca to reserve a spot.
The Braves will be travelling to Kincardine on August 16 for a pair of games.
Grant said regular league play and championships are not expected to happen this year, but if the government was to expand the 50-person "league" bubble there are more teams that are interested in playing.
The Braves captured their third provincial championship in 2019 with a 1-0 victory over the Thornhill Reds.
They played to a 1-3 record at the National Men’s Baseball Championship in Miramichi, New Brunswick.