Pacific Index

Issue date: 5/14/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Guthrie Straw A Forest Grove youth league game is underway at Chuck Bafaro Stadium at Lincoln Park. Heavy rains made playing at home difficult for Pacific Baseball this spring.

Media Credit: Tyler Andre

On Feb. 28, 2009, Pacific's baseball team opened their Northwest Conference season against George Fox University at Chuck Bafaro Stadium, their year-old home. The Boxers had the lead 5-3 in the top of the eighth and two outs when Bruins first baseman, Seth Anderson, pulled a fly ball down the left field line.
Keith Suits, a freshman outfielder, considered one of the fastest players on coach Greg Bradley's squad, was playing left field.
It had been raining in the Forest Grove area for most of the weekend. The winter snow was still visible on the nearby coastal range and the field had visible spots of mud and standing water in the outfield.
Conditions were especially treacherous near the baselines.
The ball landed in the outfield for a base hit, but it didn't just hit the softened turf. It stuck dead in the ground. Suits lowered his glove to retrieve the ball when something unexpected happened.
"I tried to break down and slid way past the ball. Then I tried to regain my footing, and I think I had my left hand on the ground to help get my feet back under me," Suits said.
As Suits tried to negotiate the mud and sod that flew off his cleats as he scrambled for the ball, Anderson made it to second on a double. "I thought I must have looked ridiculous, but after I got up, I just tried to get the ball in as fast as I could."
Luckily, reliever Nate Rasmussen struck out the next batter, designated hitter Jason Brown, to get out of the inning and not allow a run.
George Fox ultimately won the game 6-5 and swept the four-game series on their way to a share of the Northwest Conference championship. For Suits, he admitted that the condition of the field altered the way he had to play.
"I played a little bit deeper because there wasbetter footing. Usually, if you're standing on not-so-solid ground, you'll slip on the first step. If you went to the line, that was the worst. You really had to slow down early, which is not ideal if you're trying to get a ball in."
George Fox head coach, Marty Hunter, shared Suits's approach to playing at Chuck Bafaro Stadium, "The conditions definitely affected the way we played. You have to make adjustments for players, make no sharp movements or cuts and know when to hold players up."
Hunter also admitted worrying about the safety of his players, "On fields where the outfield conditions are like that, injuries become a concern on both sides."
Chuck Bafaro Stadium, part of the $11 million Lincoln Park Complex adjacent to Pacific University, was opened on March 21, 2008, with much fanfare. The investment, paid by the university and owned by the city, renovated facilities considered some of the worst in the Northwest Conference. However, a little over a year into its operation, both the baseball stadium and its smaller neighbor, Sherman/Larkins Stadium, are facing a similar problem. The heavy winter rains, along with major snowfall, saturated the fields to the point where standing water was visible in the outfield, as well as making the infield slick.
While the status of the fields do not have a direct correlation to the performance of both teams this past season, there is reason for concern going forward into spring 2010, should the same thing happen again.
The apparent solution to the lack of drainage on the both fields, put forth by Director of Athletics Ken Schumann and groundskeeper Brian Cool, will be to aerate the turf by removing plugs of material, then laying down more grass seed and more dirt to absorb the remaining water.
"The problem is that there's heavy clay content underneath both fields," said Forest Grove City Engineer and youth baseball coach Rick Vanderkin. "Aeration and more seeds and dirt may work in the short- term, but they will still have to deal with the clay."
Vanderkin explained that according to the construction plans on file with the Forest Grove City Planner's office, both Chuck Bafaro and Sherman/Larkins Stadium were to have identical drainage systems installed during construction.
However, at some point in the process, the plans appear to have been changed so that the full system was not installed. The question then becomes just what was put in under both fields and why were the changes made?
Besides Vanderkin, the Pacific Index staff contacted Forest Grove Parks Director Tom Gamble, and Pacific Vice President of Finance and Administration Darlene Morgan. They agreed that a partial system was installed but specifics on which pieces varied.
"Most definitely, yes, a drainage system was in the plans for Lincoln Park," Gamble said. "At some point, however, the decision was made to not put it in."
During the season, the baseball team had to dig a series of trenches in hopes of getting excess water off the field, a move that Gamble did not agree with because of potential damage to the neighboring private property around Chuck Bafaro Stadium.
As for a potential long-term solution like a full drainage system, Morgan said, "I don't believe that's the issue. We did a major reconstruction to an existing park. The way I see it, the university and the city have done a remarkable job and we will have ongoing maintenance and ongoing issues to improve that park for its lifetime."
Another facet of Morgan's argument is that the park is a year old and any issues will be addressed once the right information has been collected.
Morgan said, "I'm not making up excuses. I'm saying that we're in a priority order and I want to get the best advice. I'm glad that we've actually played on it and allowed the ground to settle, because now I think we'll have a better view of exactly where we need to improve."
"We could've put in a massive drainage system and it may have missed key points where we're currently having issues," she added.
The Pacific Index staff tried to establish interviews with both Ken Schumann and Brian Cool regarding this story. They were unavailable for comment. Cool did say in an email that he would be working hands-on throughout the season to improve conditions and, "When it comes to ballfields, much work is to be done."
Meanwhile, Suits and the baseball team will look ahead to 2010 and what it will bring.
"Our coaches tell us we have the advantage because we know the field, so we know what we should be able to do. When you're reacting to a play, you're just going 100 percent trying to get to the ball," Suits said.

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