Almost 50 years after the last official pitch was thrown, a Pleasant Unity baseball field has new life breathed into it.
Located behind the Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department, what was once a grassy spot where kids occasionally threw a ball around, is now a functioning baseball field with an infield, pitching mound, fencing and bleachers.
“When we went out there it was literally just a grass field with just a backstop,” said Brian Bronson, whose son plays for Mudcats 10U. “Over the course of the last two years we’ve taken it from total grass to a really nice infield.”
Kids who play for Mudcats 10U, a team on the Cal Ripken Baseball League, needed a field where they could practice and play games. Bronson’s dad, who used to play on the field, suggested the location.
Owned by the Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department in Unity, Bronson and parents of the team worked with Bernard Cutlip, safety officer with the department, to renovate the field — a task that’s cost about $10,000 so far.
“It’s been there for many many many years,” Cutlip said. “There’s been a lot of baseball and softball played on that field.”
For Cutlip, redoing the field is personal. His dad was one of the people who originally built the field that was often used by coal miners after a day of work, he said. Now, it sits next to a playground owned and maintained by Unity Township.
After approaching Cutlip about two years ago and getting permission to renovate the field, team parents started fundraising and making contributions. While the field is ready for play, it still needs work, like adding a dugout for players, Bronson said.
The team has used the field for practice over the last year, but their first officials game was Thursday.
“It’s awesome,” head coach Matt Ruffner said. “There’s so many baseball fields that are just left to waste and you can’t do anything with them. So we put a ton of work in and we can call our own.”
The Mudcats only plan to use the field for another two years. Once the kids turn 13, they’re required to play on a bigger field, Bronson said.
After that, it will be left to the community.
“It gives the community a nice place to go,” Bronson said. “The fire department has always been accommodating for local kids to come and play and use the field.”
