Our annual Opening Day celebration, on Saturday, March 2nd, once again came off as a day to remember for our kids and families.

From the T-Ball games first thing in the morning, to our Opening Ceremonies, to a great BBQ lunch from Outback Restaurant, plus wall-to-wall baseball all morning and afternoon, it was a day that will be remembered fondly in Hilltoppers history.

The day dawned bright, sunny and warm, seemingly perfect weather to welcome KUSI TV meteorologist Dave Scott and the KUSI Morning News. Dave did a great job, as always, hanging out with our kids, showing off our beautiful ballfields and complex, and making the day special for everyone involved.

Our Opening Ceremonies were highlighted by the appearance of San Diego Padres President Tom Garfinkel, along with the Swinging Friar mascot and members of the Pad Squad. It was a great opportunity for us to thank the Padres for their generosity in once again supplying our Rookie, Farm and Minors division players with over 200 beautiful Padres uniforms, and it was an honor to have them at our fields as we commemorated our 15th season with our Little Padres Park, another generous initiative of the Padres for Little Leagues around San Diego.

We were also pleased to recognize our Western Region Director Jim Gerstenslager, who was attending his final Opening Day as a Regional Director, and Elizabeth Ballard, principal of Cadman Elementary School, our wonderful community partner. We also honored the two key volunteers from Clairemont Hilltoppers in the building of our Little Padres Park, Dave Bermudes and Dave Pursel, who also stayed and umpired our very first Intermediate Division game, played on that field later in the day.

Many thanks to Outback Steakhouse, who once again provided us with a wonderful BBQ lunch, which doubled as a fundraiser for our league. Thanks to Daniel Pursel, who ran our sound during ceremonies again this year. Thanks also to the many board members, parents and other volunteers who staffed the snack bar (which had a record-setting day), prepped our beautiful fields, umpired games, got teams ready to play on Opening Day, and cheered and supported the best group of Little Leaguers around… the kids of Clairemont Hilltoppers!