WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Oct. 27) – When the 2010 baseball season arrives in February, the Waynesburg University baseball team will have a new place to call home.

Earlier this month, construction began on a new baseball field for the Yellow Jackets, which will be located just off of West Roy Furman Highway west of Waynesburg. The new facility will be located beside the Waynesburg University softball field.

The completion of the field allows the Jackets to move from their previous facility, Madison Field, which they shared with Waynesburg Central High School, adult and youth baseball organizations and youth soccer teams.

Head baseball coach Mike Humiston, who is in his fifth year as the team's skipper, could barely contain his elation as he talked about his team's new park.

“First of all, I think I speak for the entire team when I say that we are elated to be able to come into parity with some other institutions that we compete against,” Humiston said. “We have a facility that we can use to showcase the talents of players we have.”

Though Humiston is kept very busy by his coaching duties and his work as the director of the department of public safety at Waynesburg, he still makes time to keep tabs on how the construction process is going.

“I'm excited about it. I only go down there three, four times a day,” Humiston said with a laugh. “If they would let me drive the grader or the back hoe or the dump truck, I'm definitely all in.”

When it is completed, the field will feature some very unique attributes. The entire infield, including the base lines, will be made out of FieldTurf, which is the same artificial surface used at John F. Wiley Stadium, which is home to the Waynesburg football, soccer and lacrosse teams. The infield “grass” will be a traditional green color, while the baselines will be colored to look like the usual infield dirt mix.

The only parts on the infield featuring real dirt will be the pitcher's mound and the batter's box. Also, the area between the pitcher's mound and second base will feature the school's “W” logo. 

Roy Barnhart, senior vice president for finance and administration at Waynesburg University, commented on the benefits of the new infield.

“The artificial turf infield and base lines, along with appropriate drainage underneath, should make the field much more playable over more of the season than in the past,” Barnhart said.

Another distinctive aspect of the facility will be the layout of the outfield. According to Barnhart, the left field line will run just longer than 320 feet, while the right field line will run around 340 feet, with dead center sitting at 400 feet.

To compensate for the difference in the short porch in left field, Waynesburg's new baseball field will feature a 12-foot high wall from left to center and a more traditional eight-foot wall from center to right.

Humiston believes all these unique features will allow the new field to stand out when viewed by players, fans and possible future recruits.

“I think every field has an air of uniqueness, and this is ours,” Humiston said. “With the way our field is laid out, this is going to set us apart.”

Barnhart said that the turf installation is scheduled to be completed by the first week of November. The dugouts are expected to be built during the winter season.

Amity Asphalt, which was also part of the FieldTurf installation at Wiley Stadium, was hired to prepare the base that the infield surface will be put down on and will also oversee the fencing and backstop construction.

Last year, field issues and poor weather forced the Yellow Jackets to play their first three home games at Mylan Park in Morgantown, W.Va., which caused travel headaches for the Waynesburg fan base. Humiston believes the construction of their new home will help solve these woes.

“The scheduling problems from last year caused us not only budgetary problems, but problems for our fans. We had to play a lot of games in Morgantown, and they couldn't always go to see us,” Humiston said. “Now we're just a mile and a half off campus, and we're very excited about playing on it this season.”

The Jackets will get to break in their new facility on March 25, when they host Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) rival Thiel College.

The baseball team isn't the only spring program receiving an upgrade when it comes to its home site. The softball team is having its field upgraded with new bleachers and improvements are being made to the infield. The men's and women's tennis teams will also have new courts built right between the baseball and softball fields. They are expected to be completed by the fall of 2010.