The first pitch of the Long Ball Program youth league will be thrown at 6 p.m. Monday at Durham Athletic Park.

The league, part of a Minor League Baseball pilot program, fields teams for ages 13-18 and welcomes sponsors and donors.

The league is free for the players but is a lot of hard work for the coaches, who scramble to find donations for everything from uniforms and snacks to dirt for the infield.

Even if you don’t play baseball, know anybody who plays baseball or
even like baseball, there’s still a good reason to turn out at the
Durham Athletic Park on Wednesday night:

To support the 120 teenage boys who will be playing ball this summer
because parents, businesses and organizations banded together to make
sure there’s a season.

Postponed two days because of Monday’s rain, the season-opening game
of The Long Ball Program will is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. today.

The Durham Athletic Park reopened on Saturday, August 15, 2009, after renovation as part of Durham's $5.5 million restoration project.