CENTER TWP — The Little League baseball season in the township opened Saturday with an emotional tone.

The Center Township Athletic Association dedicated one of its baseball fields along Mercer Road for Nick Herman, who was 6 years old when he died Feb. 3 from a medical condition.

Terry Chapla, the president of the association, said Nick began his Little League career last season.

“The kid loved baseball,” Chapla said. “He was the second kid to sign up this year.”

Nick, a kindergarten student at Center Township Elementary, played T-ball last year and was gearing up to start his first year in the coach-pitch league for 6 and 7 year olds.

“He was a remarkable little boy,” said Tammi Delano, who was a preschool teacher of Nick’s for three years. “He touched more people in his life than you could ever imagine.”

Delano held back tears as she gave a speech honoring Nick before the start of the baseball season.

Children on teams throughout the league lined the ballfield named in his honor for the ceremony.

Delano said the league organized the naming of the field along with Nick’s parents, Adam N. Herman and Jamie L. Geibel.

Chapla said the league’s board discussed several ideas to honor Nick, and decided naming the field after him was the right thing to do.

“We wanted to put a sign up for him,” he said. “It’s a nice gesture.”

The field, now called Nick Herman Field, is one of five fields owned by the association. It is for T-ball and coach pitch leagues for 5 to 8 year-olds.

“Watching him play baseball was a joyful experience for everyone that had the opportunity to see him play,” Delano said. “He laughed and giggled as he ran the bases. It was a laugh that made everyone smile.”

A ceremonial first pitch was tossed by Nick’s best friend and classmate, Logan Brown. Logan threw the pitch to Nick’s father.

Roger Snodgrass, the principal at Center Elementary, said the school was devastated by the loss of Nick.

“It was just tragic,” he said.

Snodgrass said Nick was a great student who always had a smile on his face.

“The event they have for him here is spectacular,” he said. “What an honor.”