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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; When Miguel Perdomo first moved to Northeastern Pennsylvania, he knew if he built it, they would come.</p><p>Twelve years later, Wyoming Valley&#8217;s first Spanish-American slow-pitch softball league was welcomed by a festive crowd of more than 300 supporters on Sunday.</p><p>Liga Latina de Wilkes-Barre kicked off its inaugural season with an Opening Day celebration that brought a hint of Latin America to Coal Street Park, more resembling a block party than your average adult softball game.</p><p>&#8220;I said in the opening it warms my heart to see all of these people with grills and chairs and music and kids running around,&#8221; Wilkes-Barre city administrator Ted Wampole said. &#8220;Look at this! I am speechless at the turnout.&#8221;</p><p>The league features six teams and 100 players. A four-game slate is scheduled every Sunday this summer at 3 p.m. at the Coal Street Park softball field.</p><p>Liga Latina was conceived by Perdome, a Dominican-American that lives in Wilkes-Barre, after setting up informal softball games on Facebook that quickly drew teams and fanfare. He reached out to the city&#8217;s administration to set up the league. With support from the police department and Mayor Tony George, Perdome said was able to field six teams, complete with sponsorships, uniforms, equipment and rental fees within two weeks.</p><p>&#8220;It shows that there is a good relationship between the Hispanic community and the city,&#8221; Wampole said. &#8220;This puts a positive spin on everything they&#8217;re doing. There&#8217;s family here. There&#8217;s friends here. We&#8217;re ecstatic. Perfect day. Perfect weather. These guys have worked hard to put this thing together. They got sponsors. It&#8217;s a big thing.&#8221;</p><p>Perdome noted that Liga Latina has a waiting list for next season and the league expects to grow to 12 to 14 teams with multiple fields to host games.</p><p>The league is open to players of all nationalities, not only exclusive for Latino players. Perdome estimated 80 percent of the league is of Dominican Republic ancestry. Aside from one team comprised of Puerto Rican players, each team has a lineup of players from diverse backgrounds.</p><p>&#8220;We have white people playing for us, black people play for us,&#8221; Perdome said. &#8220;We have no race. Anyone that wants to join is welcome. Everyone can come, and enjoy the culture.&#8221;</p><p>The Wilkes-Barre administration, police department and league officials said the league&#8217;s family-oriented atmosphere presents an avenue for them to bridge bonds with the Hispanic community in the city. Angel Jirau, a community activist and league&#8217;s secretary, said the softball league will host information services for immigration, English language and employment assistance in the coming week.</p><p>&#8220;We broke history today,&#8221; Jirau said. &#8220;We&#8217;re a Latin group of people, a hard-working group of people, who want nothing but the best for their families and the community. That&#8217;s what we represent.</p><p>&#8220;I want to bring the services to them. This is going to help the community mesh with them.&#8221;</p><p>Baseball and softball are an institution in many of the Latin American countries. The Wyoming Valley&#8217;s Latino population&#8217;s affinity for the sport was a natural draw for community leaders, particularly with those whose English language skills are introductory.</p><p>&#8220;Even if you don&#8217;t speak the language, there&#8217;s a place,&#8221; Jirau said. &#8220;If you can hit a baseball, you&#8217;re going to make friends, even with those who don&#8217;t speak English. If you can field, people are going to join you anyhow. Sports is the very way to break barriers down. Who gives a damn how people can speak if they can hit 40 home runs?&#8221;</p><p>Wampole and several Wilkes-Barre police officers were on hand to welcome the league&#8217;s players in the opening ceremonies.</p><p>Ron Foy, commander of patrol with the Wilkes-Barre Police Department, said it was due time for Latinos to have a city-wide event to call their own. Liga Latina is an opportunity to have an event where city groups can make connections with the community.</p><p>&#8220;They&#8217;re proud of their heritage. This is something to celebrate,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So many of the heritage groups around here get a bad reputation because of a very, very, very small few of them. These guys are showing the people how they are just regular people with families.&#8221;</p><p>The six teams are Tony&#8217;s Meat Market, Rancho Latino, Franchesca General Services, New York Cut&#8217;s Barbershop, Clipper Heat Barbershop and Cedar Auto Repair.</p><p>Tony&#8217;s Meat Market knocked off Franchesca in the opening game by a 6-1 score that ended in a patented 6-4-3 double play.</p><p>Leo Duckets, an African-American from Wilkes-Barre who plays for Tony&#8217;s Meat Market, said he considers it an honor to be welcomed into the Latino softball community. He added Opening Day was a community affair that is much-needed for the area.</p><p>&#8220;You see my number 42 for Jackie Robinson,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;m the first black player to the Latin league so it&#8217;s only natural I&#8217;d pick 42. It&#8217;s beautiful thing. The kids are running around. Everyone is having fun enjoying themselves no matter where they come from. It&#8217;s all for the community.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Teams in La Liga Latina greet each other during opening day. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Teams in La Liga Latina greet each other during opening day. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">La Liga Latina President Miguel Pedomo offers remarks during opening day at Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_2.jpg</photo1><caption1>La Liga Latina President Miguel Pedomo offers remarks during opening day at Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Rev. Fidel Ticona of St. Nicholas Church in Wilkes-Barre blesses the teams of La Liga Latina on opening day Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_3.jpg</photo2><caption2>The Rev. Fidel Ticona of St. Nicholas Church in Wilkes-Barre blesses the teams of La Liga Latina on opening day Sunday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre Police Commander Ron Foy offers remarks as league organizer Angel Jirau looks on during opening day. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_4.jpg</photo3><caption3>Wilkes-Barre Police Commander Ron Foy offers remarks as league organizer Angel Jirau looks on during opening day. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre City Administrator Ted Wampole throws the ceremonial first pitch. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_5.jpg</photo4><caption4>Wilkes-Barre City Administrator Ted Wampole throws the ceremonial first pitch. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_6.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Six teams of La Liga Latina stand around the infield as they sing the national anthems of Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and the United States. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_6.jpg</photo5><caption5>Six teams of La Liga Latina stand around the infield as they sing the national anthems of Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and the United States. </caption5><photoCredit5>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_8.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Tommy Castillo, left, and Moises Nieres, both of Wilkes-Barre, cheer on their team. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_8.jpg</photo6><caption6>Tommy Castillo, left, and Moises Nieres, both of Wilkes-Barre, cheer on their team. </caption6><photoCredit6>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit6></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_9.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Batter Lamar Radcliffe gets a base hit up the middle ahead of catcher Carola Arias and umpire Edgar Hadton. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo7>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_9.jpg</photo7><caption7>Batter Lamar Radcliffe gets a base hit up the middle ahead of catcher Carola Arias and umpire Edgar Hadton. </caption7><photoCredit7>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit7></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_7.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Team members of La Liga Latina pose with the league trophy during a team photo on opening day at the softball field at Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo8>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_TTL061217LatinoLeague_7.jpg</photo8><caption8>Team members of La Liga Latina pose with the league trophy during a team photo on opening day at the softball field at Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. </caption8><photoCredit8>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit8></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jay Monahan</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @tlsports</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Liga Latina de Wilkes-Barre softball kicks off inaugural season