Ready for battle

After six years in the making, the fort-style fence is up, stadium seats are installed and purple turf is in place.

The Indians are finally ready to start playing baseball and softball side by side.

The LeFevre Family Baseball and Softball Complex was completed earlier this year, with an opening celebration planned Friday as the Fort Recovery High School baseball and softball teams host games against the Mississinawa Valley Blackhawks.

“Everyone’s excited because it’s a brand new facility, a beautiful new field to play on,” FRHS baseball coach Kevin Eyink said. “I’d say it’s top of the line and everyone is excited … we just can’t wait for that first game there.”

The project, which includes a new baseball field, a “face-lift” for the softball field and permanent restroom, concession and media facilities between them, started in 2017 when a group of baseball dads then known as Fort Recovery Diamond Club proposed the idea. Costs to maintain the old baseball field — it was located on the western edge of the village at the end of Caldwell Street — were piling up because of drainage, years of wear and tear and difficulties getting maintenance equipment to the location. It also lacked adequate parking, a concession stand and permanent restroom facilities.

The new complex is located on the southeast side of the Fort Recovery Elementary/Middle School property, with the baseball field added to the south of where the softball field was constructed about two decades earlier. Having the fields next to each other will streamline the maintenance process, allowing for all of the equipment to be in one location. It is also better for drainage thanks to better infrastructure in the area — water can drain 10 feet deep into the ground according to athletics director Holly Gann.

When Fort Recovery Elementary/Middle School was originally designed, the plans included space for the baseball field to eventually be built on the property.

When the time came, the Fort Recovery Athletic Boosters went through design firm Garmann Miller of Minster to draw up plans for the complex.

The first major hurdle for the project came as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with the start of construction delayed in 2020. Ultimately, B&D Contracting took on the majority of the work for the project.

The field and other facilities were the first phase of the project. In the future, the school district plans to eventually install canopies and lights for the fields.

Fort Recovery Athletics Boosters secretary Jonah Foote said the boosters received help from volunteers to finish pieces of the project such as setting up the stadium seating, putting up netting and picking rocks out of the dirt and warning track.

“It takes a village to make things like this happen,” Gann said, “It’s this network of people that truly will serve others. That servant leadership that we see from the boosters and some of the other community organizations is what allows cool stuff like this to happen.”

The area between the two fields includes a concession stand, restrooms, a press box for both fields and extra storage for field equipment.

“Sometimes when we build these complexes, we forget about all of the other moving pieces besides the actual game itself,” Gann said.

There are also features about the field that set it apart as uniquely Fort Recovery. Between the dugouts and running behind home plate there is bright purple turf on both fields. There is stadium-style seating as opposed to typical bleachers. There is an observation mound beyond center field for both diamonds where fans can drive their golf carts and park to watch the game. The baseball field also has wood fencing in right field that is squared off in the corner and each post is spiked at the top to resemble the wall of a fort.

“Fort Recovery has a pretty rich history with the two battles that took place here,” said Foote, referencing the 1791 Battle of the Wabash and the 1794 Battle of Fort Recovery. “So we wanted to honor the fort with our right field wall on the baseball field, a feature that draws your eye to it.”

The project cost upward of $1.6 million. The Fort Recovery Athletic Boosters took out a $1 million loan when the high school initially leased the property to the boosters for the project. The boosters have been able to fund the field without the use of any taxpayer dollars. All of the funds for the project have come from sponsors, donations and the Win on the Wabash super raffle.

Friday’s opening celebration will include a ribbon cutting at 4:30 p.m., first pitches at 4:45 p.m. and flag-raising ceremonies led by Fort Recovery VFW and Fort Recovery American Legion at 4:50 p.m. First pitch on both fields is scheduled for 5 p.m.

Former coaches Jerry Kaup and Marie Osterholt will throw out the first pitches. Kaup coached the baseball team for 11 seasons, including state berths in 2015 and ’16. Osterholt is the longest-tenured coach in the history of the school’s softball program, having led the Indians from 2000 through 2014.

Ultimately, the goal of improving the athletic facilities is to get more involvement with the sports. Gann hopes the new complex will excite student-athletes to the point where they want to get involved, whether it be playing for the teams, serving in a different role or coming to games to support the teams. There is also hope that with the fields side-by-side, fans will have the opportunity to support both the baseball and softball teams simultaneously.

“The more fans you have cheering you on I feel like you play better,” senior baseball player Cale Rammel said. “All of that energy feeds onto the field so that will be good. It’s going to be fun to play at.”