Courtesy photo The Athletics had plenty of hardware to show off after winning the Nashua Cal Ripken Majors championship last June. The city's Cal Ripken League has announced it will have a 2020 season, minus All-Star tourneys, starting in August.

NASHUA – The city’s largest youth baseball league will be having a competitive season after all.

On hold since the pandemic ruined its spring season, the Nashua Cal Ripken League has announced it will hold a 2020 season for players ages 5 through 12 with tryouts next month and games beginning in August. The season will last through early October.

“We are moving forward with a season,” Cal Ripken board member and spokesperson Matt Demers said. “It’s sort of a summer-fall combination, but we’re treating it like a spring season.”

The league got a boost with the state’s phased re-opening guidance and the fact the city recently opened up the ball fields with some safety restrictions in place. Registration is currently open at nashuacalripken.org. Tryouts for the Triple A and Majors levels will be on July 11, with details to follow. Teams for the Minors, Rookies and T-Ball will be formed in mid-July, the organization said.

“We’re hoping after a couple weeks of practice to start a season in early August,” Demers said, adding that playoffs for Majors and Triple A would be in early October.

Demers wasn’t sure if there were any district or state All-Star tournaments, but Nashua, he said, would not take part if there are.

“Our program wants to focus on the bulk of our kids, not just the elite,” he said.

New team

Speaking of elite, teams that were previously AAU clubs on the younger levels have banded together to form the EBL (Elite Baseball League), Demers said. The Nashua area has three – the Merrimack Valley Prospects (9U-15U), C4 Baseball (11U and 13 U), and the New Hampshire Crush (9U). Some teams were scheduled to open this past weekend.

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