Fix Baseball and Softball Fields...Now
Devin Higgins
Issue date: 5/14/09 Section: Sports
Allow me to preface this inaugural column with the following: spending time figuring out who's to blame for the muddy condition of the fields at Chuck Bafaro and Sherman/Larkins stadiums will not resolve the problem.
The issue at hand is finding a way to get a permanent solution in place so both Pacific baseball and softball doesn't have to go through another year like this. Yes, Lincoln Park is only a year old. Yes, problems are to be anticipated and expected. However, since no one can give us a straight answer as to what either the real problem or what the real solution should be, this leaves the student athletes stuck knee-deep in this mess.
Athletic director Ken Schumann and the Pacific high brass pride themselves on their $11 million investment to upgrade facilities widely considered to be the joke of the Northwest Conference. Sadly, the laughing hasn't gone away. Instead, the joke has changed because Pacific did what every good comedian does. They updated their material to get the same result.
This wouldn't be such a big deal, except no one can get a straight answer on how to fix the problem, let alone admit that there's a problem to begin with. The athletic department is quick to defend the facilities and say the problem is being handled quickly.
I'm sorry, but drilling a couple thousand holes in the ground and dropping more seed down does not a comprehensive solution make.
The original plans for Lincoln Park called for a full drainage system to be installed in both stadiums. For whatever reason, the decision was made to not put it in, and the ones who have borne the brunt of it are Greg Bradley, Tim Hill and the players.
Players have admitted to the field conditions forcing them to change the way they played their games. Plays they could normally make weren't because they were too busy slipping and sliding across the soggy turf. Sooner or later, if things do not improve, the following will happen.
Pacific will lose a game it should've won because of key play attributed to the field. Or someone's going to get hurt badly enough to affect the team for the rest of the season.
Schumann and the administration cannot wait for another sunny day to consider a long-term solution. Darlene Morgan said Friday, "Pacific is looking five, ten, twenty years down the line to see what will need to be done to improve Lincoln Park."
Pacific needs to address this now. Spend the money and put in a permanent drainage system in both stadiums before the start of play next season. Otherwise they'll be leaving both teams out to dry in the soggy winter and spring for another year.
The issue at hand is finding a way to get a permanent solution in place so both Pacific baseball and softball doesn't have to go through another year like this. Yes, Lincoln Park is only a year old. Yes, problems are to be anticipated and expected. However, since no one can give us a straight answer as to what either the real problem or what the real solution should be, this leaves the student athletes stuck knee-deep in this mess.
Athletic director Ken Schumann and the Pacific high brass pride themselves on their $11 million investment to upgrade facilities widely considered to be the joke of the Northwest Conference. Sadly, the laughing hasn't gone away. Instead, the joke has changed because Pacific did what every good comedian does. They updated their material to get the same result.
This wouldn't be such a big deal, except no one can get a straight answer on how to fix the problem, let alone admit that there's a problem to begin with. The athletic department is quick to defend the facilities and say the problem is being handled quickly.
I'm sorry, but drilling a couple thousand holes in the ground and dropping more seed down does not a comprehensive solution make.
The original plans for Lincoln Park called for a full drainage system to be installed in both stadiums. For whatever reason, the decision was made to not put it in, and the ones who have borne the brunt of it are Greg Bradley, Tim Hill and the players.
Players have admitted to the field conditions forcing them to change the way they played their games. Plays they could normally make weren't because they were too busy slipping and sliding across the soggy turf. Sooner or later, if things do not improve, the following will happen.
Pacific will lose a game it should've won because of key play attributed to the field. Or someone's going to get hurt badly enough to affect the team for the rest of the season.
Schumann and the administration cannot wait for another sunny day to consider a long-term solution. Darlene Morgan said Friday, "Pacific is looking five, ten, twenty years down the line to see what will need to be done to improve Lincoln Park."
Pacific needs to address this now. Spend the money and put in a permanent drainage system in both stadiums before the start of play next season. Otherwise they'll be leaving both teams out to dry in the soggy winter and spring for another year.
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