By Andrew Preston
The 2016-17 Trojan baseball and softball teams will begin their seasons Feb. 10, on the road, a little under three weeks from today.
On the Hill, however, improvements to both Jackson Field and the Trevecca Softball Complex have already occurred.
The newly installed, green seats at Jackson Field took about a week to complete, something head coach, Ryan Schmalz was grateful for.
“The seats were privately donated, but we had to pay for the installation of them. They were badly needed, the old ones were definitely in really bad shape, so it was a great update to our facility,” said Schmalz.
The Lady Trojans have brand-new netting which surrounds the backstop and both dugouts.
“The old (backstop) was outdated and damaged. We were wanting to build up our facilities to be the best they can be,” said head coach, Ben Tyree.
Previously, the Lady Trojans had a fence to protect their spectators from flying foul balls, with the netting Tyree hopes the fan experience will improve.
“After we built the batting c
ages a couple of years ago, it was the next thing on our list,” said Tyree.
ages a couple of years ago, it was the next thing on our list,” said Tyree.Coach Tyree said his team had to do a lot of fundraising, but ultimately the funds were available with construction beginning in early January 2017.
“It was about a $50,000 project,” said Tyree.
Tyree hopes to keep improving his facility to attract top talent to his program which has won the last four Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Championships.
“I’d love to have raised stadium seats, a press box, and redo our outfield fence,” said Tyree. “In the long run, I’d love to have new lights, but you have to go by the funds you have available.”
