Welcome! Let's Play Ball!

Lawrence Township Junior Baseball & Softball Association

Welcome! Let's Play Ball!

Spring Season Overview & Sample Schedule

Registration for our Spring Season opens in mid-October and continues through mid-January. Tap to learn how to register your player.

🗓️ Our Spring Season runs from mid-April to mid-June (approximately 8-10 weeks, weather permitting). All games are played at Lawrence Central Park, Village Park, Moody Park, or Fasolino Field.

Here's a breakdown of the typical weekly schedule:

Category	Division	Practice Day	Game Day(s)
Tee Ball	Girls & Boys Age 4-6	--	Sat or Wed
Softball	Rookies	Monday	Thurs/Sat
	Minors	Tues or Thurs	Tues/Thurs/Sat
	Majors	Mon or Wed	Mon/Wed
Baseball	Majors 50/70	Tuesday	Varies (Interleague)
	Majors 46/60	Tuesday	Wed/Sat
	Minors AAA	Monday	Tues/Sat
	Minors AA	Wednesday	Mon/Sat
	Rookies	Thurs or Fri	Thurs/Sat

Game Times:
- Weeknights: 6:15 PM or 6:30 PM
- Saturday:
  - Morning: 10:30 AM - 12:15 PM
  - Early Afternoon: 12:45 PM - 2:30 PM
  - Late Afternoon (Makeups): 2:50 PM - 4:40 PM
- Softball and Intermediate 50/70 teams may have varying game days due to interleague matchups with other towns.
- Tee Ball:
  - Saturday 9:00 - 10:00 AM (this event is both a practice and a game)
  - We may schedule one Wednesday night 6-7pm during the season)
Practice Times (Softball & Baseball): Once per week, 60-90 minutes (Evenings at 6:00 PM).

📒 A Note About The Final Schedule

We aim to follow the above schedule format so parents can plan ahead. However, several factors can influence the final, published schedule:

Number of registrants
Number of volunteer head coaches
Availability of fields and lights
Umpire availability
Participation from other District 12 leagues
Local middle/high school game and practice schedules
Field maintenance scheduled by Township partners

We start creating the final schedule once registration closes (4-5 weeks process). The finalized schedule is usually published by the third weekend in March.

Note: The schedule may change due to weather events! ⛈️. All changes are published via the GameChanger app.

Key In-Season Dates & Activities

Here’s a guide to important dates and activities throughout the LTJBSA season, designed to keep you informed and help you plan! Check our League Calendar for a full list of scheduled events.

🎉 Opening Day: First Saturday of the season. Join us for the league parade from Colavita Field to Hughes Field at Lawrence Central Park, followed by opening ceremonies and the first games of the season.
♻️ Swap Day: Mid-March. Bring your gently used baseball/softball gear and find what you need for the upcoming season. We accept bats, gloves, catcher's gear, cleats, pants, belts, and training aids. Please ensure all items are clean and in good condition (no holes, tears, or large stains). Any unswapped items will be donated. Bats and catcher's gear must have current USA Baseball, USSSA, or BBCORE labels.
📸 Photo Day: Mid-May. Get ready for team and individual pictures! All players should wear their jerseys for the team photo, which is given to our sponsors as a thank you. Every player who attends will receive a free digital copy of the team photo. Photos are taken in the Indoor Cages.
🔵 Memorial Day Parade: End of May. Players are invited to march in uniform in Lawrence Township's annual parade. If your player wishes to participate, meet at the Lawrence High School Parking lot at 9 AM. The parade concludes at Veterans Park for the Township Memorial Day Ceremony.
⚡ Trenton Thunder Day: Mid-June. Join the league as we march on-field before a Trenton Thunder minor league baseball game. It's a fun day out at the ballpark for the whole family!
🍔 Snack Shack Duty Night: Throughout the season. The Snack Shack is our league's only fundraiser, crucial for keeping registration fees low and investing in our players. Volunteer shifts involve taking and serving orders (no food prep required). Your help ensures its success!
⛳ Drive for the Diamond: Annual event (timing varies). Our annual golf tournament benefits youth softball and baseball programs. All proceeds support continuing operations, including equipment and facilities upkeep, our scholarship program, and capital improvements.

Summer Tournaments

New Jersey District 12 an official “District” tournament each year, usually held between June 25 and July 15; and a “house” tournament held between July 16 and July 30. Each tournament offers brackets for different age groups.

Lawrence enters teams based on player availability in each age group. If an age group has enough interest to make a team, we will form a team at that age level first before asking players to “play up.”

🔴 Criteria for selection to a Tournament Team:

Participation in at least 8 regular season games, with at least 1 at bat and 1 inning played in the field (unless granted a medical exemption)
Ability demonstrated during the regular season, as observed by each coach in the players’ division
Ability demonstrated during the tryout process in the following areas: throwing, catching, fielding, baserunning, hitting (see our player development rubric for more details)
Roster makeup by position as determined by the Head Coach

The Head Coach makes the final roster participation decisions. By trying out for a Tournament Team, you and your player agree to abide by their decisions for roster selection and playing time.

🔴 An important note about Summer Tournaments:

Little League District Tournament season is a commitment to be available to play or practice anytime between June 15-July 30. Games may be scheduled or reschedule game at a moments notice to accommodate shifting weather patterns or changing schedules at the State level. Teams may be asked to wait out a weather delay in a dugout until late at night to finish a game, then be asked to return the following day to play again.

Lawrence Little League's policy is that any player that commits to a District Team but misses a scheduled game without an excused absence will be prohibited from trying out the following year. If a family cannot commit to being available for this period, we strongly recommend that their player does not attend try outs and potentially take a roster spot from a player who can make the full commitment.

Fall Ball Program

Fall Ball programs run from mid-September to mid-October with a focus on skills building and scrimmages. We typically offer programs for
boys and girls ages 5-12 that focus on fundamentals in a relaxed atmosphere. Registration typically begins in August and the program starts after Labor Day and runs for 6-8 weeks.

Depending on enrollment, we usually forms teams in the 7-9 age group, and then in the 10-12 age group. Players typically in the division above the one they played during Spring Season. The commitment is only one weeknight, where either a practice or a game is held, as we understand that children are back to school and homework is ramping up. Registration fees for Fall Ball include a team shirt and hat.

INCLEMENT WEATHER NOTIFICATIONS

The League will announce weather-related cancellations by 4:45pm on a game day. Cancellations will be communicated to parents directly via Facebook and Instagram. Coaches will receive an email or text, and then must notify their teams directly.

In the absence of a League announcement by 4:45pm, the following Little League Rules apply:

Rule 3.10 (a): Managers of both teams shall agree on the fitness of the playing field before the game starts. In the event that the two managers cannot agree, the President or a duly delegated representative shall make the determination.
Rule 4.10 (d): As soon as the home team's batting order is handed to the home plate umpire, said umpire is in charge of the playing field and from that moment shall have sole authority to determine when a game shall be called, halted, or resumed on account of weather or the condition of the playing field.

Any regulation game (4 innings) that is suspended due to weather will automatically be concluded and a winner declared to avoid having kids sit in dugouts on a school night.

Any non-regulation game or tie game that enters a weather delay more than 39 minutes prior to the scheduled end will wait, unless decided otherwise by the League or Lawrence Township.