Baseball merger coming to Greensburg, South Greensburg and Southwest Greensburg

Greensburg, South Greensburg and Southwest Greensburg are joining forces, combining their youth baseball programs in an effort to save the struggling sport.

“All of our programs were dying off,” said Southwest Greensburg recreation Chairman Miles Webb.

Starting in the spring, the newly created Greater Greensburg Athletics organization will administer baseball for all three municipalities.

Southwest Greensburg will host softball, South Greensburg will host tee-ball and baseball for children ages 10 and under, and Greensburg will host baseball for older kids.

Parents can register their kids at any of the three municipal recreation offices, regardless of where they will actually play. The cost will be a flat fee of $65 for anyone who lives in the Greensburg Salem School District.

There’s many reasons for the change, said South Greensburg recreation board member Jennifer Detore. All three municipalities have seen participation drop over the years. Often, they didn’t have enough participants to field teams for some age groups. Kids who couldn’t play would join Hempfield’s youth baseball program.

“Once they’re gone, they’re established and they never come back,” Detore said.

Merging services makes it more likely kids will stay in Greensburg.

“The kids are going to go where their friends are, and this make it easier now for them to do that,” said Greensburg pool and arena Manager Trudy Ivory.

Many players would have ended up in the same place eventually, Webb said. Kids who play in the municipal baseball programs often end up playing for Greensburg Salem School District’s teams.

“In the long run, they’re all going to play together at the high school,” Webb said. “Why not put them together now and mold them as a team?”

The new partnership extends beyond baseball. Greensburg will begin holding soccer games at South Greensburg’s fields, supplementing flood-prone Lynch Field in the city.

Each municipality will be responsible for maintaining its athletic facilities.

There was significant overlap in recreation programs even before the merger. Greensburg has the only soccer program of the three municipalities, drawing kids from South Greensburg and Southwest Greensburg.

The South Greensburg Bulldogs football team folded recently, making Greensburg the only municipal football program of the three communities.

Previously, those who lived outside the city had to pay extra to participate in Greensburg’s sports’ programs. Under Greater Greensburg Athletics, all residents in the Greensburg Salem School District will pay the same rate.