Nothing can rain on the annual Rye Little League and Rye Girls Softball Parade, and other than the non-seasonal chill in the air on Saturday, April 13, it was a fine opening day.

Families showed up early at the train station and on Purchase Street for the best perches. Team managers rounded up their players and gave them final “marching orders.” Holding banners high was somewhat challenging when the winds picked up.

Parents, siblings, and grandparents cheered as every one of the 55 teams passed by. There were Bats and Mudcats, Bluebirds and Honeybees, Vipers and Cobras, Pipers and Starlings, not to mention those Mets, Yankees, White Sox, and Pirates.

The two Leagues now have a combined 710 players! And every one of them made it safely to the Disbrow Park field for a wrestle, a photo op, and a few hot dogs.

The highlight for listeners who could hear above the happy din was the news from Rye Girls Softball President Genevieve Weber. Just in time for the league’s 50th anniversary in 2025, the Girls Softball field at Rye High School should have a new home run fence and backstop, a better batting cage, and, most importantly, will be regraded and the grass better cared for.

“Superintendent Byrne and the Administration have been terrific! They recognized that the condition of the Girls Field was poor – last year one girl brought a hand mower to the field – and they agreed that the time was now, not only for Rye Girls Softball, but for all young women’s teams,” said Weber, who, a week later, told the paper that the Rye Fund for Education has also offered to help share the cost of a new scoreboard.

Looking ahead, Weber’s goal is for a Rye Girls Softball team to be a Sectional champ, which is something the whole town will applaud.