Lower Merion Little League families can now sign up for fall baseball under lights for the first time, after the league spent $260,000 on new field lighting and dugouts at its Gladwyne complex.

Registration opened Friday, with spots available on a first-come, first-served basis. The fee is $150 for the full fall program, and full waivers are available by emailing [email protected]. New coaches who did not coach in spring must register separately through the league's website.

The biggest change: the league says two fields will host lighted games and practices for the first time, extending play into evening hours. Lower Merion Township commissioners approved a Memorandum of Understanding in January, allowing the league to install lights at Richie Ashburn Field in Gladwyne, with a 10 p.m. nightly shutoff. The league funded the entire project.

"We have over 2,000 township kids that play in our little league," league president Wally Orlov told commissioners in January. "And we think this is a dream that we've had for the last 10 years, and it's finally come to this day."

New divisions, familiar teammates

LMLL is trialing separate sixth-grade and seventh-grade intermediate divisions this fall, with games scheduled primarily on Sunday afternoons. All players move up one division from their spring placement.

For baseball players, a new auto-roster feature lets families register directly with the team they played on in spring. The league said the goal is to keep spring rosters intact heading into fall.

Free clinics are included in the registration fee.

Growth behind the investment

The $260,000 capital spend follows a 134% increase in registration between 2018 and 2024, with the league growing from fewer than 1,000 players to close to 2,000, according to a Little League International profile published in May 2025. That profile listed LMLL as the second-largest league in Little League's East Region, with 154 teams across 18 divisions in 2025.

The league also spent $20,000 on scholarships and fee waivers and has launched "Feel Good 99," a $99 one-time donation drive to replenish its reserves. Fall season start dates have not been announced; families can check lmll.org for schedule updates.