Archers’ baseball team brings its game to another field while maintenance continues
By: Kurt Oberreither
News Editor
By: Spencer Gleason
Sports Editor
During last year’s consolidation of the seven STLCC athletic teams across three campuses, STLCC-Meramec was designated to hold Archer baseball. More than three months into the first Archer baseball season, the Archers have a rotating home field.
When evaluating the facilities throughout the district, President of Districtwide Athletics Pam McIntyre said the Meramec field was chosen because the only other field in the district, the Florissant Valley field, required “a significant amount of repairs.”
On April 5, Kirkwood residents and STLCC students may have been wondering why the Meramec baseball field resembled a ghost town. It was, however, a scheduled home game, but the Archers were not there. Instead they were playing their home baseball game 13 miles away from the STLCC-Meramec baseball field—at Heine Meine Baseball Field.
The Archers still practice on Meramec’s fields and the grounds crew still maintains the field as usual. According to Building and Grounds Manager Dennis Bannister, $13,878 is spent on the field annually. Meanwhile, the college spends $75 per game at Heine Meine.
Tony Dattoli, STLCC Archers head baseball coach and said there are a number of projects that could be pursued to make the field safe and qualified. He said the warning track does not adhere to National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) guidelines. According to Dattoli, the backstop is more than 40 years old and in disrepair.
“There are some things with the baseball field that are larger projects than people forecasted,” Dattoli said.
The college has invested more than 60,000 in capital projects for the field in the last five years
“Every year we spend a lot of money on the Meramec baseball field. It is an ongoing maintenance requirement to make sure the fields stay safe. We invest in that annually. Last year, there was some major work done on the infield,” Director of Physical Facilities Thompson said.
Since the athletics consolidation, the college has painted the dugouts and replaced the third base dugout. According to Thompson, the college creates a five-year plan that includes projects such as a new warning track and backstop.
“All of [the projects were] coming to fruition about the same time as the baseball season was getting started,” Thompson said. “So rather than play on the field with all these needs that we have to take care of, we decided to get it done correctly and safely for the long term.”
Thompson said removal of the sewer drain down the first base line became priority when the ground settled because of the safety hazard it poses. The college contacted the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) to draft a plan to move the drain to another location.
“It’s a great practice facility. The tricky thing comes during a game: you’re looking up for a foul ball and you’re running over toward the fence, which is another issue,” Dattoli said. “You know if you walk down the sidewalk and you’re looking up at the sky and you step off a curb, you lose your balance. Unfortunately, where this sewer is located, it’s kind of the same scenario, but the curb is about 18 inches in height.”
While the Archers know about the drain, McIntyre said it is especially dangerous to the unaware opposing team.
“[On the first base side] it does drain pretty well. I mean if you have a great big down pour, you’re going to have standing water in some areas for a little while, but as long as it’s gone after a certain amount of time its fine, “ Building and Grounds Manager Dennis Bannister said.
Thompson said the drainage project is still in progress.
“Right now, we know there are some things that need to be done,” McIntyre said. “The MSD sewer drain was not something that we knew about last summer – that was just something that occurred within the course of the year because of the way in which the ground settled.”
According to Thompson, $150,000 of the 2013-2014 budget has been requested for physical education and athletic facilities. She said the district still plans to invest in the baseball fields after the drain is addressed.
“Generally speaking, things happen – in terms of baseball fields or any other project at the college – in stages,” McIntyre said. “Most of the time the total sum of money that you might need to deal with some of these major things is greater than what’s on the table, so you have to do it in stages.”
Dattoli said one example of the positive investments the college has made in facilities is the Forest Park gymnasium. Since the consolidation, new fans have been installed, the floor has been resurfaced and the Archer name has been painted on the walls and floor.
“The district themselves has made a pretty good commitment to athletics, from my assessment. They’re starting to invest some funds and some time into making our facilities better,” Dattoli said.
Due to the maintenance, the Archers have not played a regular season game on Meramec’s field.
Because of the safety hazard, the athletics department decided the team would have to spend at least one season playing home games at another field. The Archers played their first six games at St. Mary’s High School’s field, but since March the Archers have been calling Heine Meine home. Some games are also played at Aviation Field in Forest Park.
“How long we’re not going to be playing [at Heine Meine], it’s hard to tell,” Dattoli said. “I’d rather drive a couple extra miles to play a ballgame, than [be] in fear of somebody getting hurt on our field right now.”
However, the Archers’ schedule does not specify where the games will be played.
“I suspect that fell through the cracks when the decision was made to move somewhere else,” McIntyre said.
Although Dattoli said he has 10 years under his belt at Meramec he said, for now, Heine Meine has been a great asset for the team so far. As for homefield advantage Dattoli said “we still bat last.”
