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Here at Slice, we love many rites of spring.

Opening day at the Smithfield Farmers Market, egg hunts and the community Easter sunrise service at Windsor Castle Park quickly come to mind.

Yet our favorite just might be the return of baseball, our favorite sport, after a long winter.

Baseball’s familiar sounds are in a league of their own: the crack of a bat, the smack of the ball hitting the catcher’s mitt, even the mild-mannered heckling of an umpire calling balls and strikes.

Isle of Wight is blessed with opportunities to visit a diamond. Recreational leagues for the kiddos are getting started this month, as are the Smithfield High Packers, whose improbable run to the Class 4 state championship game last spring had us all root, root, rooting for the home team.

If you want to see the pros in action, Harbor Park, where the Triple A Norfolk Tides play their home games, is an easy drive. Even D.C. is relatively accessible to see big leaguers in action once or twice a year. (Will the Nats get back on track this year?)

Enough about baseball. 

We hope you enjoy this Spring 2024 edition of Slice, including the inspiring story of Carla Harris, who came to Smithfield for a fresh start in retail after a long career in journalism and the loss of her husband and mother. Go see her sometime at Hamtown Mercantile.

And then there’s the story of an Isle of Wight Academy teenager who routinely beats adults at his sport of choice. We won’t say more here, but you’re sure to get a charge out of the story.

We wish all of our readers a pleasant, enjoyable spring. Hope to see you at the ballpark.