With most Ozark students’ drive to school taking them from Jackson St. to West Bluff Road, many of the Tigers’ baseball players made sure each day over the winter to take a quick glance to their right to track the progress on their home field.
Synthetic turf was installed by Georgia-based AstroTurf, as part of what was nearly a complete renovation of the 40-year-old ball diamond. The project was funded by money remaining from a $19 million bond issue in 2022.
Outfielder Rylan Sutton and pitcher Caden O’Donnell were thrilled upon seeing the first strips of turf put into place.
“I remember them laying it out and I was like, ‘Holy cow, this is going to be nice,’” Sutton said.
“As soon as they put out the first strip of the turf, I texted Rylan and said, ‘This is going to be so much fun,’” O’Donnell said. “All winter, as they were putting it together, we were excited to get out here.”
In fact, Sutton, O’Donnell and outfielder Anthony Cordell were the first ones to pitch, hit and throw on the turf.
“Coach (Justin Sundlie) had a walk-through on a Friday when it was done to make sure everything was looking good and that Saturday I texted him and said, ‘Hey, can we get out of the field and hit?’” Sutton said. “So, me, Caden and Anthony got out here and we took some B.P.”
Pitcher Luke Baer won’t soon forget the first time he stepped onto the turf. He was a bit late to do so compared to many of his baseball teammates since he was part of Ozark’s basketball team.
“I remember coming out here the first day after basketball season and honestly being in awe,” Baer said. “It's so nice.”
Coach Justin Sundlie feels the turf has produced added excitement from his players at practices.
“The players absolutely love the turf. It definitely brings another level of energy from the guys,” he said. “You can tell they are grateful and proud to have something so nice. They are out here all the time.”
Ozark is the first Christian County school with a turf baseball field.
“We are so lucky,” Sutton said.
The Tigers no longer close their practices with various field-maintenance duties, most notably raking the infield, batter’s box and pitcher’s mound.
“Coming from having to take care of the field every day to having all this, we're so blessed,” Bae... Click here to read full article
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