Lately, the softball and baseball teams have been noticing the need for extra space and better equipment on their fields. In August the school board was asked for funds for additional baseball and softball field facilities. If they chose to give funds, the money would be used to expand and build onto the baseball and softball fields. These expansions would include adding another field and batting cages.

“The School board approved the funding for the upgrades and the City of Lucas approved the building permits for construction to start,” Brett Emery, head baseball coach said.

After hearing from Joe Luce and Page Schreck, the baseball and softball booster club presidents, they also heard from the student athletes Collin Cooper and Beth Johnson.

            “Coach Emery wanted to have a player stand up and represent the team at the meeting, so I volunteered,” Cooper, junior said. “The add-ons to the fields will be a new backstop, covered batting cages, a professional wall instead of a chain-link fence, new dugouts and better drainage. We needed these because the old backstop was leaning toward the field, the fence looked trashy and the dugouts were tiny and cramped for space.”      

The total cost of adding on and upgrading of both the fields will be around $1.2 million.

“Coach wanted for players to talk about why we wanted the upgrades, I thought it would be more meaningful if a senior like me, who has been here since the program started stood up and talked at the meeting,” Johnson, senior said. “Nothing really kept us from playing on the fields before, but there were obstacles that we had to overcome, it was really crowded with the baseball and softball teams all out there at once. It was difficult to practice infield and other things.”

With these upgrades there will be room for both teams to practice on separate fields, therefore eliminating the crowd problem of both teams.

“With the amount of student-athletes participating in both programs, we were cramped for space,” Amanda Douglas, head softball coach said. “This expansion allows all the teams an equal amount of practice time in order to improve their fundamentals.  Not only are these nicer aesthetics, but it was a safety issue on the baseball field. The baseball backstop was leaning over and was a safety issue to any athlete who was playing on the field.”

            With these expansions both teams will be able to practice with a full field before games. This will help the amount of practice time and allow the players more time to warm up.

            “We will have one of the best facilities in the state of Texas,” Emery said. “We have had some deficiencies from the original build and we needed to correct them. The new facility will be more fan friendlier, with more bleachers and netting instead of chain link fence for a backstop.”

            There are additional batting cages on each field so that the baseball and softball teams until now, they had to wait on each other for batting practice.

            With these additions the baseball and softball fields will be a safer and better place to play.