Moorefield Baseball and East Hardy Softball fields have gone under renovations for the upcoming season with coaches and volunteers working diligently to finish the improvements.
East Hardy’s field was extensive with the removal of all the grass throughout the outfield and a new topsoil and special grass was seeded in addition to making better surface areas for the infield with Turface infield conditioner, foul territory improvements as well as cosmetic dugout area enhancements.
Moorefield’s field work improvements were necessary for safety as gravel was removed from the foul territory along the dugouts and behind home plate and replaced with artificial turf.
Grants and donations from the community helped make these changes possible.
Major renovations to the East Hardy Softball field took four months to complete according to assistant coach Kelly Heishman with the next makeover milestone planned by the end of the summer will the installation of three thew bullpen pitching lanes with adjustable pitching plates along with an inclined pitching mound with artificial turf base.
“The main reasoning for a renovation to the field was to create a more uniform outfield area taking away uneven playing surfaces. To accomplish this, we stripped away the old grass, installed 300+ tons of new topsoil, installed automatic 24 sprinkler heads, install a 10’ warning track and upgraded from traditional tall fescue grass to an athletic blend hybrid grass which handles high traffic better,” Heishman commented.[private]
“Additionally to the outfield, the infield got 26 tons of “Diamond Tex Premium” infield mix with 1.5 tons of “Turface infield Conditioner” blended in. With the new infield mixtures the field will have less rain-outs, less bad hops and firmer/safer playing conditions with limited maintenance.”
The softball field’s major renovations started last August and were completed by February of this year with cosmetic enhancements improving the quality and safety of the complex including painted dugouts, enlarged player entrance, concrete dugout runways, new backstop netting and back stop padding along with fencing and gate modifications.
The money raised for the renovations at East Hardy Softball field came from private contributions by individuals and businesses concluding M..C. Dean, Ultra Turd and silent sponsors were the major contributors.
Some of the volunteers and contributors included Kelly Heishman, Bryan Sisler, Scott Heishman, Isaac Kohne, Gene Heishman, William Hose and Carson Whetzel.
American Woodmark Foundation provided funds for Moorefield Baseball’s field project with volunteers working on the installation primarily included Wade Armentrout, Scott Stutler, Ritchie Baldwin, Mr. Crites and others.
George Hott Field’s facelift focused primarily on the first and third baseline foul territories wrapping around behind home plate as Moorefield skipper Wade Armentrout and assistant coach Scott Stutler worked on finishing touches removing some of the dirt and gravel next to the applied artificial turf.
The artificial turf application around these areas to approximately 15 days to be placed.
“This is a little bit safer for everybody than the gravel that we had here. While we had some extra time with the project we were going to do during the summer we decided to get started. it is a lot better for field maintenance also,” Moorefield Baseball coach Wade Armentrout remarked.
“We used funding that we requested from American Woodmark, the American Woodmark Foundation. The turf actually came from Texas, where it was delivered from. It was from a baseball field in California. The quality is great. Coach Stutler, Coach Baldwin, Mr. Crites and myself have worked hard on this project. It took about 15 days for this major project to be completed.”
Moorefield Baseball players won’t have to worry about raking up all those sunflower seeds in the gravel and dirt with this new turf addition.
When the new season rolls along, look for the special improvements at East Hardy and Moorefield.[/private]
