ONTARIO — Soon Richland County children can play ball all year round.
Three local parents – Jerry Holden, Jason Kearns and Shawn Ramion – have teamed up with the intention to open an indoor baseball and softball facility at 4154 Park Ave. West in Ontario in November. They haven’t yet decided on a name for the facility, which is directly behind the Eldridge Company, 4148 Park Ave. West.
Each has at least one son playing baseball, but the boys have no place to practice in the winter.
“The biggest thing — with any sport — if you want to get better at it, you have to practice,” said Holden, a former minor league pitcher and CEO/broker at The Holden Agency. “And when you have to stop practicing for five or six months, it’s tough to keep that skill.”
The approximately 5,000 square-foot facility will include three indoor batting cages, indoor turf, a seating area for parents, and pitching mounds and machines, designed for both baseball and softball.
Holden anticipates that the interior will be complete by September and hopes to open near Nov. 1, just as harsher weather conditions arrive.
The facility will, however, be open year-round. Holden said the space could be used in case of rain in the summer.
“You need to be able to do hitting, fielding and throwing exercises on a regular basis, if you want to take your game to the next level, whether its baseball or softball,” he said.
Kearns works in industrial sales at Fairborn Equipment in Lebanon, Ohio, and Ramion is the assistant principal at Clear Fork High School.
The trio intend to keep their current jobs in addition to running their sports facility.
“We want to cover bills and have space for kids to play baseball,” Holden said.
“It will benefit a lot of kids, not just our kids,” Ramion added.
Tryouts for eight Johnny Appleseed Baseball Club (JABC) teams – ages 8 and under through 15 and under – will be held 10 a.m. Aug. 5 at Peco Park, 1321 Freese Works Pl., Galion.
Kearns, the co-director of JABC, said six of these teams’ coaches have already registered to use the space. The 8 & under team still needs a head baseball coach.
Memberships for other teams and individuals can also be purchased. Team memberships start at $1,200, which covers one weeknight time slot every week from November to April. Teams can get one weekend time slot for $1,500, also for November to April. Two days per week – a weeknight and a weekend slot – will cost $2,500. This option includes the possibility for a summer time slot, too.
Individual pricing is yet to be determined.
For more information, reach out to Holden at 419-545-3912, Kearns at 419-306-9527 or Ramion at 614-204-0781.
