Pohlman Field Gets New Infield

For the first time since 2002, Pohlman Field is getting new infield grass this fall.

The project, which is already underway, is expected to take about two weeks from start to finish with Head Groundskeeper Eric Williams coordinating the effort and Robb Valdez assisting.

"With our field being primarily a mixture of black soil and sand, we began to see some pretty substantial soil movement over the years with the harsh winters and freeze/thaw cycles," Williams said. "It became pretty evident over the last two seasons that I've witnessed here that it was affecting the play of the game - and as a groundskeeper you definitely don't want to see plays that should be routine become not-so-routine. So, we came to the decision that the infield needed to be replaced in order to improve the quality of the game."

The project commenced on September 29th with the old grass being removed. The underlying soil will then be leveled out and smoothed before the new sod is installed.

Unfortunately, the recent rainy weather has put a damper on the progress of the task.

"We are a couple days behind schedule, but there's not much we can do about that. Some teams have the luxury of bringing in outside help for these types of projects and getting it done in a matter of a few days, but for us we are doing it all on our own," he said. "Yes it's a lot of hard, manual work, but I look forward to different challenges and this is also a little bit of a learning experience for me."

The new sod is expected to be delivered on October 12th and installation will begin immediately.

"By the end of next week, it should look like a baseball field again," Williams remarked.