Some Bainbridge baseball fans are crying “foul” when it comes to the high school fields.
Instead of a Field of Dreams, they see a Field of Bad Dreams. But the school district says it is in the process of trying to improve the fields.
Dane Fenwick, facilities and operations director, said they’ve been working on plans for some time, but they were delayed by COVID-19. The district has a contract with DA Hogan and Associates, which specializes in designing and building athletic fields.
He said he’s been given about a dozen preliminary designs. He wants to cut that down to about five, and then present the options to the school board in late fall with the work to be done in phases. This has been “ongoing with Booster parents for some time,” he said of the goal to improve fields.
Fenwick said of course the fields are in bad shape right now because they are not being used by the high school or any community organization. He added that some people use the field without going through the proper channels, and that use can degrade the fields and make them look “used and abused.”
He said that for about five years the district has worked closely with the Boosters to improve the fields.
A complaint by one Booster was that a hefty donation to improve the baseball field was turned away. But Fenwick said that was only because of Title IX. “Anything we do for baseball we have to do for fastpitch for the girls,” he said.
But baseball and softball supporters say it’s taken the district way too long to fix the facilities.
Mark Lavigne, who’s son Luke is a senior on the baseball team this year, said for some reason the school district seems to have a vendetta against the baseball team that has gone on for years. He said it’s “unexplainable” that the district doesn’t do more for such a successful program. “Why they don’t reward a program like that is beyond me. They don’t go to bat at all for Geoff [Coach Brown].”
Lavigne said he donated $10,000 to put up safety netting to keep people from getting hit by foul balls. He said there have been lawsuits all over the country on that, but the district wouldn’t do anything. “They ought to be ashamed.”
He said for some reason the district doesn’t value baseball. “They need to step up to the plate and do the work,” he said, adding Bainbridge has a tax base that can certainly provide a much better facility.
Lavigne said the district needs to do what’s right for the student-athletes and not let personalities get in the way. “The Bainbridge School District superintendent has done a horrible job of solving conflicts,” he said.
Ian Ritchie, dad of J.R., who recently signed a $2.4 million contract with the Atlanta Braves, added, “I have fought the good fight for so long, and feel like the district just waits us out until a new parent group comes in.”
He said there is little money budgeted for field maintenance, in violation of Title IX, and the district and school board know it.
However, “On game days, the maintenance staff has gone above and beyond to help us get the field playable, but many times my wife brings our own mower and mows the infield grass” and parents rake, drag and line the field for about three hours.
Parents paid $5,000 for a new mound, and the Boosters did about a $50,000 draining project as games were canceled even when it wasn’t raining. “Umpires knew how bad it was as did other coaches that threatened to get back on the bus and refuse to play because of field conditions,” Ritchie says in an email to the Review.
During COVID, the school lost the baseball jerseys, so Boosters paid for new uniforms. The transportation budget was so small they had to carpool to games rather than take a bus.
When the football field turf was replaced years ago, it went to an off-island group rather than being offered to the baseball-softball program, he said, adding coach Brown asked for the turf as it was replaced again this summer.
Erin Bischoff, BISD public relation officer, says in an email that the turf was recycled and not sold. “It was 11-plus years old and did not have any viable life left.”
Freshmen take public transportation to practice, and baseball parents pay to rent an indoor practice facility and a batting cage. They buy their own baseballs and field tarps. “Our storage shed is a disaster and rat-infested. There is no question baseball and softball have been treated worse than anyone else, other than the wrestling team,” Ritchie says.
He said he donated over $15,000, and other parents also donated a lot of money and time. As for the administration, Ritchie said athletic director Jim Corsetti, who recently resigned, wanted to turf the area all the way from the softball to the baseball field. Ritchie added his son is 100 percent in support of redoing the field and naming it after coach Greg Messolini because of all he’s done for Spartan baseball.
Jofrey McWilliam, whose son played for the Spartans a few years ago, said the fields are embarrassing, especially since college and pro scouts have been in the stands the past few years watching players like JR Ritchie. A number of others received college scholarships to Division 1 schools.
McWilliam sent an email to Corsetti complaining about the fields and never got a response. McWilliam said he took time off work to help get the fields ready for play because the district did not maintain them. He said, “The field is unplayable and dangerous.”
For example, he said the warning track is covered with moss, so it really doesn’t warn a player about the fence he’s about to crash into. He said it took 10 days for the district to turn the water on so volunteers could work on the field. If the district isn’t going to fix the fields, “get out of the way and let the Boosters do it.”
Even though it’s been a few years, McWilliam is still obviously upset about the issue. He said since the district never really gave them a reason on why the fields were not kept in better shape, there is a lack of trust. “You assume the worst because there’s no reason to assume the best.”
Booster member Monica Knight said the fields put kids at risk.
“I’ve heard of many incidents, including one that happened to my own son, when he was hit in the face by a ground ball that bounced out of a hole on the field during practice last spring,” she said. “The year before, one of the coaches had his nose broken by a ball that slipped through the netting on the batting cages” that are full of holes, she added.
Also, while other sports have nice bathrooms at the stadium, baseball and softball have one port-a-potty each. There are also no lights. Almost every JV baseball game last season was cut short because the sun went down before the contest ended, Knight said. She said it’s embarrassing for BI because communities like Puyallup, Auburn, Mercer Island and Olympic all have top-notch facilities.
Knight said she’s heard a 2024 levy might include funds for improving the fields by 2026. But she hopes by working with the district, the city and the community improvements can be done now. There’s a ton of grant money for athletic facilities — along with private donors and sponsors within the community who are willing to help, she said.
With the proper facilities, baseball and softball could generate revenue by charging admission and for concessions. Participation, especially for softball, which barely had enough girls to make a team, also could improve, Knight said. If BI had such facilities, it could host tournaments and bring visitors to town to help local businesses.
In an email response to Knight’s criticism, district superintendent Peter Bang-Knudsen said the baseball and softball fields “are in need of some updating,” but they are not being used now “so they are not in peak condition.” The fields are regularly maintained, especially during season, and some significant work has been done in recent years in regard to drainage, as well as other work.
Knight questioned why the football and soccer stadium is being re-turfed before the ballfields, and Bang-Knudsen said because it’s the most-used facility by the high school and the community, and the turf’s lifespan is over. He said the district is looking into a major remodel of the baseball, softball and athletic fields on the north side of the BHS campus.
“We don’t have the details of the plans yet, or the costs, but we hope to be able to consider some plans that could be phased over time,” Bang-Knudsen said.
He went on to say that if Booster and community groups would like to help pay for such improvements the district would be glad to work with them.
BISD relies on booster fundraising and volunteer hours to make improvements to the fields. “We are grateful for their partnership,” Bischoff says.
