Post by Deleted on May 27, 2015 12:07:01 GMT -6
By Kevin Casas
kcasas@star-telegram.com
In seeking solutions to decade-long drought conditions, small towns such as Brock and Henrietta have turned to turf fields for football, baseball and softball.
While the idea centered around limiting water usage for the community, some unexpected visitors have shown up during playoff time this season.
Henrietta High School hosted a three-game baseball series between Aledo and Wichita Falls Rider a couple of weekends ago and Brock welcomed Arlington Martin and Abilene this past weekend.
“I think we’ve had 87 games this season played on our baseball field and like 67 on our softball field,” Henrietta athletic director Byron West said. “The funny thing is to see the reaction of workers at Dairy Queen and Subway when the buses start rolling in. They just have these ‘not again’ looks on their faces.”
Whether it was the snow from February and March to the heavy spring thunderstorms and rain showers, baseball and softball coaches have been pursuing the use of turf fields to accommodate their schedules.
In the case of Henrietta, the town even opened its baseball field for free in order for other district teams to conclude their regular seasons.
And while getting games completed wasn’t the driving force to installing the fields, it’s been a welcome byproduct.
“It was just hard for us to place drought restrictions on our communities and then have a need to dump a bunch of water on our fields,” Brock athletic director Scott Drillette said. “It’s pretty neat to have schools as big as Martin and Abilene coming to our town to play.
“The only problem we’ve had has been seating capacity. All of this just kind of snuck up on us.”
West agreed, saying not only has he had discussions about seating, but increasing the number of restrooms.
“We knew there was going to be more folks at these games, but having them stand around and wait on restrooms isn’t ideal,” he said. “We’ve been looking at our funding and our fees that we’ve collected and thinking about adding about six more restrooms to these facilities.”
West said he didn’t have complete numbers, but said there has to have been an increase in economic impact around the towns.
“In most of these cases, I know a few of the teams have stayed or considered staying at our local motel,” he said. “And then you add parents as well and that’s significant.”
Bounce back
In Southlake Carroll’s two wins this past weekend, senior catcher Nic Motley went 4 for 5, driving in two runs and scoring twice as the Dragons rolled to a two-games-to-one regional quarterfinal win over District 7-6A opponent Coppell.
Motley’s throwing error in Game 2 allowed Coppell to take a 1-0 win and force the decisive game.
But that just meant extra at-bats for Motley, who hit .500 in the series and had a combined cycle that included a triple and a homer in the Dragons’ 3-2 Game 3 win.
“We’re facing college-type pitchers and these guys are tough, very tough,” Carroll coach Larry Hughes said. “I couldn’t be happier with how Nic bounced back.”
— Correspondent Travis L. Brown contributed to this report.
www.dfw.com/2015/05/25/999254/turf-fields-become-a-boon-for.html