Despite a delay of nearly a month due to COVID-19 restrictions, the 2020 Deltaville Deltas baseball season is finally set to commence. The Deltas released their 2020 home schedule this week, and kick off the season at home against the Chesapeake Sharks this Saturday night at 7 p.m.
The Deltas return four of their top six batters from the 2019 season — infielders Ryan Wiggins and Alexander Crittenden, and outfielders Colby Roberts and Travis Crump, as well as one of their top RBI producers, Scott Crump. The team’s top four pitchers, Jay Moore, Paul Jones, Devin Sisson and Jason Wood, all return as well, looking to repeat their dominance on the mound that led them to a combined 12-1 record a season ago.
Young blood will also be injected into the lineups and the rotation this season. Local college-bound high school standouts Cole Stamm, Nicky Wholeking and Tyler West are among the area high school seniors who will be joining the team. With the departure of five-year catcher Brandon Walker, Jamestown High School product and current Virginia Tech Hokie Ryan Pastirik will join third-year catcher Holden Sandridge in handling the pitching staff.
With the late start, the Richmond NABA league has elected to extend the season through the end of August in order to maintain a similar number of games. Familiar foes such as the Tappahannock Tides, Richmond Brewers and Richmond Team Woody, along with some new names line the schedule. Each Saturday night through Aug. 15 has a regular season game scheduled at the ballpark, and the team will travel to central Virginia fields on Sundays and weeknights to complete its road schedule.
The Deltas are coming off a record-setting regular season that ended in disappointment during the playoff tournament last August. After finishing a perfect 18-0 between May and July, the Deltas dropped their first game of the double elimination playoffs, and were eliminated in an extra inning thriller five nights later. Deltaville will be looking to rekindle the magic of the 2019 regular season, with hopes of righting what went wrong in last year’s postseason.
Admission remains unchanged for 2020, with adult tickets for $6, teenagers for $3, and children 12 and younger free. The ballpark is also looking forward to serving baseball staples out of the newly rebuilt concession stand, as well as providing easier access to the grandstand via the newly build entrance ramp and handicap seating area.
Safety and social distancing measures
With reopening the ballpark to baseball and fans comes great responsibility to protect those in attendance. The Deltas and the ballpark will be limiting attendance at games, as well as launching a number of safety measures to promote social distancing. These measures will be reinforced with signage throughout the ballpark, and include:
Selling separate tickets for the first base and third base side of the grandstand, and limiting the number of tickets sold for each side, to promote spacing out and social distancing.
Designating the first and third base entrances nearest home plate as “entrance only,” and the wing exits nearest the bases as “exit only,” to promote the recommendation of one-way traffic in close areas.
Marking the grandstands in six-foot sections to promote social distancing and give fans a visual cue for appropriate spacing between families.
Using individual packs of condiments in the concession stand, and asking that those in line for concessions respect social distancing practices.
Regularly sanitizing bathrooms and handrails during the game.
Providing soap and hand sanitizer at various locations in the ballpark.
Encouraging those that are not eating or drinking in the grandstand to use their masks, especially when walking through the grandstand around other fans.
With the limited seating capacity, it is anticipated that games may become sold out. If that is the case, the Deltas and the ballpark will announce this on their social media pages.
2020 Deltas home schedule
(All games start at 7:30 p.m.)
- June 27 — Richmond Team Woody.
- July 4 — Tappahannock Tides.
- July 11 — Richmond Mets.
- July 18 — Richmond El Heaters.
- July 25 — Richmond Avalanche.
- Aug. 1 — Richmond Dodgers.
- Aug. 8 — Richmond Smokies.
- Aug. 15 — Richmond Brewers.
