Will Baseball Field survive for another season?

Garrett Wiseman, Staff Writer|November 13, 2014

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Gallery • 14 Photos
At its best, there are puddles on the infield.
Moss and dead grass cover the bullpens at the varsity field.
Garrett Wiseman
Moss and dead grass cover the bullpens at the varsity field.
Grass is growing all throughout the infield on the varsity field.
Grass is growing all throughout the infield on the varsity field.
Grass growing all the throughout the infield on the varsity field.
Garrett Wiseman
Grass growing all the throughout the infield on the varsity field.

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Moss and dead grass cover the bullpens at the varsity field.
Garrett Wiseman
Moss and dead grass cover the bullpens at the varsity field.
Grass is growing over the base paths on the varsity field.
Grass is growing over the base paths on the varsity field.
Grass and weeds invade the batting cages for baseball.
Grass and weeds invade the batting cages for baseball.
Grass and weeds invade the batting cages for baseball.
Grass and weeds invade the batting cages for baseball.
At it's best, there are puddles on the infield.
Garrett Wiseman
At it’s best, there are puddles on the infield.

Will Baseball Field survive for another season?
The title tells it all, it’s a question many around the Baseball program at Arlington ask around this time of year. Imagine a tie game in the bottom of the seventh inning, crowd roaring and you knock in the winning run, this is something the Varsity Baseball team didn’t get to experience very much last year. The past few years the field has been declining, last year being the worst. Last season the Varsity team was unable to play a single home Non-league game, and could only play eight home games all year; all in the second half. Asked to describe the field last season, Scott Striegel, Head Coach of Baseball, said “For much of the season conditions were unsafe and unplayable”. Drainage was the biggest problem, the field was mostly said to be drowning and flooded. Most of the practices were held indoors; something any baseball player will tell describe as terrible. Inside, the players are very limited to what they can practice, limiting the players performance overall. The equipment was available to work on the field and get it playable, yet very little maintenance was actually done. Home field advantage, something they didn’t get very often, is very important in baseball. The home team practices on that field every day and are used to the way the fall bounces, the background of the ball traveling, they have a crowd rooting for them, and they get the last chance to hit in the bottom of the seventh. Not that the football field wasn’t bad, but it was playable, yet they got turf instead of baseball. A new softball field was also recently installed on the lower field by the tennis courts as well, not necessary. Funds are being used on fields that don’t need it while the baseball team is in danger of once again not playing at home. Jared Huff, Senior, said “Terrible, actually terrible. Hopefully some of the money can get donated to baseball. Football got turf and we got nothing”. Something that has been happening over the past years is football practicing on the Varsity Baseball field. They tear it up and leave it like that for baseball every year. When asked why football was on the Varsity field instead of the JV field, Tom Roys, Athletic Director, said that coach Dailer didn’t believe there was enough room. Roys also stated that it was the Field maintenance and Districts job to monitor the field and ensure that it is not being torn up. Without some major changes the baseball team will be in danger of losing more home games this season and beyond.