Baldwin-Whitehall area youth baseball, softball organizations merge

For the first time in the nearly seven decades of youth baseball and softball in the communities that serve the Baldwin-Whitehall School District, players will compete under the umbrella of a single organization.

The Baldwin Whitehall Athletic Association has agreed to merge into the Greater Baldwin Whitehall Athletic Association, effectively immediately.

“Both organizations have always had the best intentions for the kids and the communities,” GBWAA president Jesse Siefert said.

“Working with the BWAA board has been a very easy process. We are looking forward to having them be a part of our organization moving forward. Personally, I couldn’t be any more excited. For all of these kids who go to school together, to have the opportunity to play within a single baseball and softball association is tremendous.”

The fall baseball and softball seasons will be the first under this new combined venture. Registration for the seasons opens Saturday, and the first games tentatively are set for Sept. 1.

“With everyone coming together, we will have nearly 1,500 kids involved with the program on more than 100 teams,” Siefert said. “As you can imagine, there’s a lot of logistics involved.”

Teams and leagues are available for those age 4 with instructional tee ball to 18 with Senior Legion baseball and 18U slow-pitch and fast-pitch softball.

The merger was finalized Monday at the GBWAA board meeting. The BWAA board, under the direction of, most recently, chairman Matt Dingus, approved it last week.

“We’re pretty excited about it. We think it will create a lot more opportunities for every kid in these communities,” said Dingus, who, along with BWAA director of baseball Joe Cornell, will join the GBWAA board.

“We will be able to compete at a higher level working together rather than as separate entities.”

Dingus has coached for six years and served on the board of the BWAA, which consisted of baseball, softball, football and cheerleading.

The BWAA and GBWAA, Dingus said, merged for football and cheerleading last year under the BWAA banner. He said there will not be tackle football this fall because of the coronavirus pandemic, but flag football is moving forward with a tentative October start.

“There is a lot of growth happening in all areas,” he said.

The South Baldwin and South Whitehall athletic associations merged in 1998 to form the South Baldwin-Whitehall Athletic Association.

In 2000, the SBWAA merged with the North Baldwin Athletic Association to create the Greater Baldwin Whitehall Athletic Association with north and south divisions.

The Baldwin Whitehall Athletic Association remained on its own, and both organizations operated in the communities for two decades through this summer.

Families in the communities, Siefert said, were able to join whichever of the two they wished.

“In the past 20 years, there were, at times, politics involved which held up any type of merger from happening,” Siefert said. “There are great groups of people on both sides right now, and that’s what has allowed this to happen.”

Siefert said the merger has garnered positive support from the community, including support from local government officials.

“This is really good for the community,” said Whitehall Borough council member John Wotus, a former chairman of the borough’s recreation board.

“Both organizations have been easy to work with, and both have the idea of helping the kids along athletically. By merging, you have one organization with a lot of kids and a lot of teams that will foster an even more competitive atmosphere.

“Also, with one organization, we all will be able to schedule all the games and utilize the fields better. There will be so much more to offer the kids. This is exciting.”

Both the BWAA and GBWAA held summer seasons after getting the go-ahead from the state government through the transition from the red phase of coronavirus recovery.

“We were able to get our seasons in,” Siefert said. “Obviously, it looked a little different than in past seasons, but we were able to work with the communities and with the regulations that were put in place by the health agencies to make sure we were compliant and able to provide the kids with the opportunity to play.”