Legion heads to Hershey June 18 for first games

    In a season where it was uncertain there would even be baseball, Imperial’s Legion team is ready for its first games next week.
    The team of 21 players will be on the road to Hershey next Thursday, June 18, the first day Nebraska officials are allowing baseball games.
    Next week’s opener for Imperial will be a junior double-header starting at 4:30 p.m. MT. Hershland has fielded only a junior Legion team this summer.
    It couldn’t come early enough for Legion Coach Bruce Peterson or his players.
    “We have a lot of kids on the team who love baseball. That’s a key thing,” he said.
    He’s had more paperwork than usual due to COVID-19, but he said he believes most of that is now in order.
    Imperial’s team this season is made up of players from four different high schools.
    Twelve of the players attend Chase County Schools in Imperial or just graduated. Five hail from Perkins County Schools in Grant, three are from Dundy Co./Stratton while a player who attends Wauneta/Palisade is also on the team.
    Peterson said the Hickey brothers from Grant played last season, but they picked up three additional players from Perkins County. The three from Dundy County were on last year’s team.
    Five on the Imperial roster are true seniors, while 16 are in the junior team age. Many of the juniors will be playing “up” for the senior games.
    Peterson said all five seniors can pitch, along with about half of the juniors. That pitching depth is a plus, he said.
    The catcher’s position will be filled by Trevor Peterson in the senior games when he’s not pitching. Coach Peterson said they are working with several players to fill the catcher’s spot for the juniors.
    The field at Campbell is in good shape, he said, and they hope to finish work on the batting cage in the coming days. The cage was moved to a new spot south of the field two years ago.
Five home dates
    With a shorter season due to the state-mandated late start, Imperial has 11 double-headers on its schedule, five of them at home.
    Imperial will be on the road for five double-headers in the first 10 days of the season. Besides next week’s opener at Hershland, they’ll travel to Holdrege, Hershey (to play Overton), Ogallala and Broken Bow.
    The home opener at Campbell Park is Sunday, June 28, when Imperial hosts Cozad.
    Other home games this season include:
    July 6—Holdrege double-header, 3:30/6 p.m.
    July 9—Ogallala double-header, 4:30/7 p.m.
    July 11—Broken Bow double-header, 12 noon/2:30 p.m.
    July 12—Hershland double-header, juniors only, 1/3:30 p.m.
    League tournaments will follow starting July 16-19.