At the fall grant presentation for the Washington County Riverboat Foundation, they agreed to help the Riverside Ball Association with an upcoming project. WCRF President Mike Driscoll joked, “I’m not sure how many grants this group has received from us over the years, but I’m starting to think there should be some Major League players coming out of Riverside one of these days.” The WCRF then awarded $6,957 to the Riverside Ball Association to help build new batting cages.

Riverside Mayor Allen Schneider was in attendance to receive the grant, and he said the ball association has done a good job over the years of coming up with projects like this, and the WCRF has been generous in their support. He believes the cooperation between the ball association and the WCRF is critical to keeping the baseball and softball programs going. He added, “We think it’s a great program for the youth in the summertime. It gives them something to do, it keeps them active, and it’s harder and harder to keep those programs running. So I think, when we’ve got facilities like we do, and people who want to be involved, that definitely helps.” The current batting cages are outdated. Schneider said the grant money will go toward updating the whole area. That includes pouring new cement and installing a shed between the cages to make it easier to move pitching equipment around.