Baseball returns to Wicomico, but not Fruitland

WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. – Baseball will officially return to Wicomico County this weekend, but not everyone is playing ball.

The Eastern Shore Force says they’re hosting a tournament Saturday and Sunday with games at the Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex and other surrounding fields, but games will not be played on their home fields in Fruitland. That’s because according to the Eastern Shore Force, the city council won’t let them despite the state and county easing restrictions.

“We went back to the council and said we would like to play our tournament in your fields because of the fact that the governor has opened it back up and the council had voted 3-1 to not play our tournaments on our home field,” said Stewart Davis, a board member for the Eastern Shore Force.

Davis shared the news about the city’s decision Thursday on his Facebook, encouraging people to reach out to the city council and ask them to reverse their decision.

47 ABC reached out to the city council for a comment but did not hear back by the time of broadcast Thursday night.

Meanwhile, at the county level, James Simmons, superintendent of recreation says they have been preparing for a month for things to reopen. He says by working with the county health department they have come up with restrictions that follow state guidelines to ensure everyone stays safe.

“Number one, hand washing is absolutely critical, so our bathrooms will be cleaned and sanitized every hour on the hour and prior to the day beginning,” Simmons said.  “PPE and masks are not required unless you are not able to socially distance by state guidelines so in our restroom facilities – we are going to require people if they want to use the restroom they will have to wear a mask.”

Seating will also look different at HPAC. Simmons says they have either removed or taped off bleachers to prevent seating there.

“People are going to have to socially distance, we are going to be marking X’s around every single field, spacing spectators out for everyone. So it’s not even a question this is where you’re allowed to sit,” Simmons said.

Another big change is that everyone coming into the complex will have to be screened. Those who don’t pass will be banned from activity until they have been cleared and get a medical release.