Preparing the field with Head Groundskeeper Leah Withrow

RENO, Nev. -- In her three years with the Reno Aces, Head Groundskeeper Leah Withrow has seen it all, including a snow delay on Opening Day.

“When I was a full-time assistant in 2019, we had Opening Day, and it snowed. We had to pull tarp and wait for it to be done snowing. In that circumstance, it was important to have everything ready ahead of time, so we stayed later the night before just to make sure everything was mowed because we knew we weren’t going to be able to mow the day of the game.”

Withrow is one of three female groundskeepers in the minor leagues and often communicates with the two others. The other two are Morgan Hunter of the Columbia Fireflies and Caroline Beauchamp of the Delmarva Shorebirds.

“Morgan Hunter is the head groundskeeper of the Columbia Fireflies, and it will be her first year; and she’s a really good friend of mine, and I’m super pumped for her.”

When preparing the field for a game, Withrow starts from the inside out and begins by packing and prepping the mound and home plate. After that, she moves on to the infield, where attention is key when trimming the edges.

“We will start working on the infield dirt, and we’ll get all of our edges trimmed up; we’ll make sure every transition is flush so that there are no lips or anything along that back edge. The lips can dictate the direction of the ball, which could lead to errors.”

After trimming the edges and flooding the infield, Withrow packs and preps the bullpens before taking care of the warning track.

“We’ll move on the warning track and get that dragged and keep watering it for dust control and stability purposes. We’ll flood the warning track, and it’s very good at draining, so trying to keep water in is a little harder, but the attempt counts.”

One of the most visually appealing features of a ballpark is the center field design. This year’s design is still under wraps, but Withrow has shared her favorite designs since working in Reno.

“My favorite was the diamond we did; we had a big diamond in center field. That one always turns out good. I’m always a sucker for the simple checkerboard, the double-wide checkerboard. It just looks clean, looks good, and is easy to mow, and everybody likes that one. You know you’re at the ballpark when you see a checkerboard in the outfield.”

Aside from the field, Withrow maintains the right-field berm, Jose Cuervo tent, and Greater Nevada Field’s front yard.

“To sum it up, it starts at the mound and ends at the front yard.”

The Aces have a dedicated team that takes care of the field, including a rescue cat named Smalls.

“Almost a year ago, I heard a rustling in my office, and at first, I thought it was a mouse, but it sounded bigger than a mouse. I jumped up on my desk, and outcomes this scared little cat that was super skinny; she was hungry and super friendly. Since I’m an animal lover, I ended up going to Wal-Mart buying her cat food, and she’s been here ever since.”

Smalls roams the ballpark and always finds her way to the Grounds Crew team meetings.

“She technically lives at the ballpark; she loves it here and gets to roam free. We have no mouse problem now, and if we’re standing at a circle in the shop, she wants to be in the meeting all the time.”

Withrow’s team is prepared and excited for another season with a well-kept field that enhances the fan experience at Greater Nevada Field.