The Marshall Parks and Recreation Board of Trustees batted around the possibility of agreeing to a contract between the Parks Department and the Marshall Little League Ball Association for the 2019 season during its meeting on Wednesday, February 6.
New Marshall Parks and Recreation Superintendent Chad Unterreiner read some of the other responsibilities of the ball association under the contract. The contract calls for the Marshall Little League Ball Association will adopt baseball and softball programs from Marshall Parks and Rec beginning this season at all levels above Coaches Pitch (9-10 Minor League; 11-12 Major League; 12-13 Intermediate; 13-14 Junior League; 15-16 Senior League).

Unterreiner also laid out some of the responsibilities that will fall on his department- which will include preparing and maintaining the fields and provide the association with the list of sponsors. He said one of the concerns is for the scholarship kids.

Some of the shared responsibilities include paying for umpires- no more than two for regular-season games and up to four for any district or state tournaments Marshall would host. Equipment for teams also will be a joint effort between the two entities this year.
After batting around all of the provisions of the contract- including the potential of what is believed to be a minimal financial burden on the Parks and Recreation Department- the board approved the motion to agree to the contract’s provisions. The contract calls for the entities to meet and revisit the situation at the end of the 2019 season.
Currently, the Marshall Little League Ball Association teams play in LaCoMo East with other teams from Concordia, Sweet Springs, Hughesville and Santa Fe. The hope is for Marshall to have its own Little League Charter by 2020.