WINGATE — Come spring, the girls on the varsity softball team at Bald Eagle Area High School will no longer have to head out on the bus for practice. They won’t have to miss class time to travel for home games. And hopefully they will draw bigger crowds to cheer them on.
Finally, the girls in the BEA high school softball program will be able to play right on the school’s campus, just like the baseball team does.
In July, the school board approved the use of capital project funds for the construction of the new field by Dave Roman Excavating for $784,124. PBCI Allen Inc. will handle the electric work for $49,700.
Construction is expected to wrap up by Nov. 17, and the field should be playable by opening day 2023.
Athletic Director Doug Dyke said the project comes after an Office of Civil Rights complaint filed against the district because the softball team had been playing at a local Little League complex while the baseball team was set up with a field on school grounds.
Dyke said the filers agreed to drop the complaint if a field was built on site, making things equal to match Title IX.
The district had talked about building a softball field for 20 years, but, Dyke said, nothing came to fruition. After the complaint was filed, he said the district “pretty much had to do it.”
The field is being constructed to match the baseball field, with a scoreboard, dugout and flagpole. The noticeable different between them, besides size, will be a net in place around the field to save foul balls from flying onto other sports fields and residential areas.
“It will be neat to have them on campus,” Dyke said. “I could have three varsity events happening in the spring at the same time, with softball, baseball and track.”
Dyke said the district did have a nice set-up for the team at the Little League complex, even hosting state playoff games at the facility.
“I am sure the girls will be excited because they won’t have to ride the bus for practice. The older, varsity girls won’t have to miss class time for home games. Maybe more kids can attend the games now because they can stay after school and take the late bus home,” Dyke said. “They will pick up a little more practice time because they won’t have to wait for a bus.”
This story appears in the Sept. 8-14 edition of The Centre County Gazette.
