MISQUAH — Misquah Post 162 opened Legion baseball practice Monday evening under one working light tower, one flickering tower, and the steady optimism of manager Sonny Dahl, who has coached under worse and mentioned it twice.

The roster is young, the infield is uneven, and the electrical box behind the third-base dugout still requires what Dahl called “a respectful tap.” Still, sixteen players reported for the first workout, including five from the Pike varsity squad and three who arrived directly from work with fast-food bags in the dugout.

Dahl said the team has enough arms if everyone stays available and enough bats if everyone stops trying to hit the lake. “That’s baseball,” he said. “You build around what you have, not what you wrote down in March.”

The evening focused on throwing, bunt defense, and outfield communication, interrupted once when the light blinked out and came back on after a player offered what may or may not have been a prayer. Parents watched from the bleachers with blankets and mild electrical concern.

Post 162 opens next week against Birchard. Dahl said the goal is to play clean, throw strikes, and keep the lights on. He did not specify an order.

The result gives the Pike another useful line in a season still taking shape around rainouts, bus schedules, and the normal hazards of spring fields. Coaches said the team is ahead in effort, behind in polish, and exactly where a young roster often is when the calendar says summer but the dirt says wait.

In the bleachers, the analysis was immediate and confident. One grandfather had the bunt sign figured out by the second inning. A parent questioned the strike zone. Two younger siblings spent most of the game under the first row looking for a missing dollar and may have seen more of the infield than anyone else.

Lakeside returns to practice with the usual list: cleaner throws, smarter baserunning, better communication, and enough patience to survive the next weather update.