Donation helps Sewickley recreation group fix ballfield

The Sewickley Area Athletic Association improved its pony league ballfield in Herminie, thanks in part to a $5,000 donation from a Texas-based energy company.

Before the baseball season began the spring, the athletic association made long-term major field improvements to the baseball field, including grading the field and installing French drains in an $18,000 project, said Mike Aujay, president of the athletic association. The association took Energy Transfer’s $5,000 donation and paid the remainder of the cost with its own money, Aujay said.

The amount of rain that has soaked the area in the past few years has forced a number of rainouts of scheduled softball and baseball games, Aujay said. Depsite all of the improvements, Aujay said the field took a beating from the recent heavy storms.,

The association provides athletic opportunities for children in Sewickley Township, Arona, Madison and surrounding communities. The associations maintains the fields that are owned by Sewickley Township, Aujay said.

Energy Transfer, based in Dallas, donated the money to the athletic association as part of its community outreach efforts. The company is supporting athletic associations in communities across Pennsylvania with $150,000 in donations for youth baseball and softball programs, said Chris Koop, public affairs spokesman for Energy Transfer.

The company’s core operations include natural gas midstream, intrastate and interstate transportation and storage assets.