The rolls of new sod were lined up along the first and third base lines at Scotia’s Collins Park last Friday, waiting for the old sod to be torn out by the bulldozer parked a short distance away.
The professional-grade sod was provided courtesy of the Tri-City ValleyCats, who were also sending a team of experts to help Scotia Little League volunteers install the new infield on Field No. 6 as part of the New York-Penn League team’s 4 in 24 field renovation project.
`The nice part is that we get to watch them and see how they groom the field, and we learn from that and do the same things,` said Scotia-Glenville Little League president Joe Gatta.
Further north up Route 50, Ballston Spa Junior Baseball was abuzz with action as one of its fields was going through the renovation process, which involved replacing the existing infield and pitcher’s mound, as well as a fresh coat of paint on the central concession stand.
`Having the Tri-City ValleyCats doing this is huge,` said Ballston Spa Junior Baseball president Neal Hastey. `It’s fantastic to give the kids a professional playing surface.`
Ballston Spa Junior Baseball and Scotia-Glenville Little League ` along with Westland Hills in Albany and Northside Little League in Schenectady ` were chosen from more than 40 youth baseball organizations to receive the rapid makeover courtesy of the ValleyCats and their sponsors: Price Chopper, Friendly’s, CDTA and The Brickman Group.
`We realize that there are a lot of little leagues that need our help,` said Keith Sweeney, stadium operations manager for the ValleyCats.
Hastey said he was surprised that Ballston Spa Junior Baseball was one of the fields that was chosen.
`We were shocked, happy and surprised,` said Hastey. `It was one of those things where we never expected it, but we hoped.`
Work began in the pre-dawn hours at Westland Hills and Ballston Spa and was finished in the afternoon. Northside and Scotia-Glenville were the last two stops, with work beginning in the afternoon and carrying well into the evening.
Hastey and Gatta both said the renovations would not have taken place as quickly as they were done had it been up to their respective leagues to pay for the work.
`We knew there were problems that needed to be fixed, but we didn’t have the money or the knowledge to fix them,` said Hastey.
`We probably could have done it ourselves. It just would have taken a few years to raise the money ourselves,` said Gatta.
The sod used for the infields at the four youth baseball fields were the same professional grade used at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium, the home field for the ValleyCats. The pitcher’s mounds were also raised to professional standards.
`It’s going to be like walking into Yankee Stadium [for the kids],` said Hastey. `In all senses, it’s a professional playing field.`
Ballston Spa’s primary field received the pro treatment, while Scotia-Glenville chose its secondary field to be made over.
`The reason why we wanted to do that field is it gets used by the Triple-A level [teams], and they deserve a good field,` said Gatta.
The renovations at Scotia-Glenville won’t end with the new infield. The league received donations to build a fence around the field and install a scoreboard. The field will then be dedicated to Dick Fyvie, a long-time Scotia police officer who also was a coach and an umpire in the local little league before he died in 2006.
`You try to [raise] as much [money] as you can to get things done,` said Gatta.“
