Friday, August 3, 2018
MONMOUTH, Ore. - After years of lost practices and suspended games due to unplayable conditions, the Western Oregon University baseball and softball fields will be receiving a substantial makeover this summer.
Working with Hellas Construction, a sports construction company out of Austin, Texas, both fields will have a new irrigation system installed in the outfield to provide improved drainage to the grass areas. In addition to a completely new backstop, the WOU Softball Field will also receive a new Hellas Matrix® Turf in the infield.
"Being able to play our home games on campus is important to our student-athletes, coaches, and fans. I am excited to see this project moving forward," Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Curtis Campbell said, "The installation of new drainage systems for both fields and a new turf infield for softball will enable our fields to adequately handle the rain and stay in playable condition."
Over the years, both teams have been forced to cancel or move home games to other venues because the fields were unplayable after rain. Improved drainage on both the softball synthetic turf surface and the baseball natural grass surface will not only protect the home field advantage for the Wolves, but will reduce the costs associated with travel and renting off-campus facilities.
"Game days over the years have often been a game of wait and see or a last-minute rush to secure alternative locations which cancels out any home field advantages for the players," WOU Softball Coach Lonny Sargent said. "These improvements are a massive lift to our program. The new infield turf installation and the improvements to the outfield will make our field one of the most resilient in the league, if not the West Coast."
In all, over 12,000 square feet of Matrix turf will be placed on the softball infield. The WOU Baseball Field already uses a turf infield though use of the facility was often limited due to water collection in the grass outfield.
"Our players have never used having to play off campus for their home games as an excuse but having a consistent presence on campus will have a significant impact for our players and our fans," WOU Baseball Coach Kellen Walker said.
Hellas Construction, Inc. specializes in the general construction of sports facilities and sports surfaces and is the turf provider for NFL teams such as the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars.