[Baseball/Softball] ROAD WARRIORS: KWU Baseball and Softball still await home openers

Bailey Watros (SR/Sandwich, Ill.)' answer was pragmatic and diplomatic.

 

Asked for his thoughts on the Kansas Wesleyan baseball team's weather-related nomadic existence, which has seen 13 home games cancelled thus far, Watros took the high road.

 

"It was definitely an unforeseen adversity, but this group responds really well to adversity," said Watros, the Coyotes' senior leftfielder and this week's Kansas Conference Player of the Week. "We've gone through the trenches all year long and battled our way through a whole bunch of different things and this is just one more little road bump we've got to climb over.

 

"It would be nice to have a home every now and again."

 

KWU has played 19 games, all on the road at opposing teams' sites or neutral sites. Three home Kansas Conference series, scheduled for Dean Evans Stadium, were moved to McPherson, Wichita and Alva, Okla. – sites with artificial playing surfaces.

 

Their three-game set last weekend against Tabor was played at Wichita State's Eck Stadium on Friday and Saturday's finale at Northwestern Oklahoma State in Alva, Okla., which necessitated a seven-hour round trip.

 

Coach Bill Neale, who's in his fifth season, understands this winter has been an anomaly compared to recent years.

 

"In general this is pretty unique since I've been here," he said. "Last year was cold, but we didn't have a whole lot of precipitation throughout the year. The two or three years before that the weather was pretty good in February and March.

 

"My kids are pretty tough-minded, I think they put up a good front. It's one of those things they're not going to tell you it bothers them."

 

The Coyotes have taken eight road trips for their 19 game this season. They're 8-11 overall, 3-6 in the KCAC.

 

"There's a lot that goes into a road trip," Neale said. "When you have them planned it's OK. When you go on the road when you're supposed to play at home, there's more because we are the home team and you have to do some different things like that.

 

"We almost slipped up and forgot baseballs the other day and we're the home team and have to provide baseballs. We have to get umpires. If we're getting umpires outside our area we have to pay mileage, so there's a lot of extended costs."

 

Playing home games on the road also requires KWU to provide streaming and statistical services, among other things.

 

One significant casualty is not being able to play in front of a home crowd.

 

"That's what hurts the most, not getting to play in front of the great people of Salina and our administration and our faculty, our staff here," Neale said. "It's more about their families not being able to see them play, our host families not being able to see them play."

 

"Obviously it would be more pleasant to make a five-minute drive to Dean Evans and play and have a whole bunch of fans cheering us on," Watros said.

 

Wesleyan's softball team has likewise been affected, losing three home dates (six games) so far. The Coyotes played a hastily arranged doubleheader against Houston-Victoria on Monday in Victoria, Texas. A single game against Huston-Tillotson is scheduled for Wednesday in Austin.

 

The solution, of course, would be to enhance Evans Stadium and the softball diamonds at Bill Burke Park. Salina Athletic Partners – a group of local businessmen, coaches and supporters – presented an $8 million proposal to the Salina City Commission in the spring to upgrade current facilities and construct new ones with the group pledging to raise half of the money. Wesleyan is part of the group.

 

The plan, though, has been tabled for the foreseeable future.

 

"We're kind of at a standstill," Neale said. "I've heard recently it's not looking promising right now, so we'll just see. We've come up with ideas for (the city) to raise money, but right now it's kind of a waiting game and it's been that way. We've got people who have pledged to donate money, to be a part of this project."

 

One small-scale remedy would be to replace the grass surface at Evans Stadium with artificial turf and turf two fields at Bill Burke Park.

 

"That's something we talked about maybe doing in the fall," Neale said. "Even with all of us who use Dean Evans it would solve a lot of problems. I think (SAP) wants a commitment from the city that they're going to be in this with us and support the other 50 percent of the project.

 

"I don't think we've gotten to the point where we abandon everything, but I know we're at a point where we want to make something happen."

 

The Coyotes are scheduled to play Bethany in a three-game series Friday and Saturday in Lindsborg. Their next scheduled home dates are March 19 against Concordia and March 26 against Hastings. The next conference home dates are March 29-30 against Avila.

 

The softball team is scheduled to play Benedictine on the March 16 and Hastings on March 19 at Bill Burke Park.

 

"I don't know if it's going to happen with the city, I can't say whether it is or isn't," Neale said. "I believe it's going to happen. There's going to be some baseball fields and softball fields constructed somewhere. I know this group's determined, they know that we need it."