The Online Reflector

The softball team can expect to be playing on a new field next spring, as construction will begin as soon as the snow subsides and is expected to be completed by next fall.

Due to the construction of East Hall, the softball field will be moved to the northeast corner of the practice football field or soccer area, with National Avenue on the north and State Street to the east. This would not the first time the field was relocated.

“It’s interesting because, having been a long-time softball coach, I know we’ve moved our field probably three times,” said Athletic Director Dr. Sue Willey. “Where Central Hall is was where the softball field was at one time.”

A softball field is considered easier to move than a baseball field due to size, but the university was unable to construct the new field in time for the season, which Willey had anticipated.

“We had hoped it was only going to be one year. We tried. Our plan was to have them back on campus this year, but there’s a lot of things that go into planning,” Willey said. “We’ve made the best of it and I’ve appreciated the softball coaches, their staff, the student athletes and their great attitudes.”

Currently, the team practices and plays home games at the Indiana Central Little League off Keystone Avenue, which can pose scheduling problems. Thus far, due to the season’s early start, the Greyhounds’ home games can take place without interfering the league’s games.

Most of the Greyhound softball players do not consider the commute much of a hassle, though they are looking forward to getting back on campus.

“It will be very nice to be able to walk to the diamond, “said freshman Nikki Wilson. “I’m really excited and I think that it will bring hype to the team and more fans will be able to come to the games.”

Senior utility player Carmen Martinez echoed Wilson’s opinions.

“I think the new field next year will be an awesome place to call ‘home’ for the future softball teams,” Martinez said. “I couldn’t be more excited to see the end results.”

Holding practices off-campus has not seemed to affect the team’s season record.

“I worried last year because we made that move and they were off campus,” Willey said. “But they had the most success they’ve had. That, of course, isn’t due to being off-campus, but they don’t seem to be negatively affected by it either.”

Wilson explained the team’s attitude regarding the location of current practices and home games.

“A field is a field, and as long as we have regulations, we can make it work,” Wilson said.

Building East Hall on the site of the old softball field saved the university the money it would have cost to put the field  somewhere else. Subsequently, the new softball field will be constructed using university funds set aside for the project.

“You can’t say that you’re going to move your softball field and then not have funds to build a new one,” Willey said.

Parking poses a potential problem. According to Willey, the new softball field and Student Athletic and Recreation  dome will eliminate approximately 150 parking spaces.

However, construction is expected to commence without problems.

“The women deserve a nice facility,” Willey said. “They had a nice facility before, but every time we’ve moved the field, we’ve made it a little bit better.”