CLAY TWP — State police are searching for unknown vandals who last week caused thousands of dollars in damage to the Moniteau High School softball field.

Police said an unknown vehicle drove around the gate at the school sometime during the night of Dec. 19 and did doughnuts on the recently renovated field. The vandalism caused an estimated $8,000 to $10,000 in damage, police said.

Dan Beebe, head coach of the school’s softball team, said softball parents and supporters have raised $1,150 to offer as a reward to anyone with information leading to an arrest.

Beebe said the school had just renovated the field last summer after this past season.

“We haven’t even played a game on it yet since then,” he said.

Beebe said the vandals drove across the practice baseball field and did doughnuts in the outfield of the softball field, where the girl’s varsity and junior varsity teams play.

“We just had the whole outfield redone,” the coach said.

The left and right fields were leveled off to make the playing surface flat across the outfield, which also received topsoil.

Beebe said the infield also had work done.

He estimated up to $10,000 was spent renovating the field.

Beebe said he is not sure if the field is insured or when repairs may be done.

He said the field sits back from the school and its soft soil likely would make getting equipment back to it difficult in the winter.

The team begins playing in March.

Beebe said the sight of the torn up field was hard to look at, especially after the work done.

“It was pretty depressing to see,” he said.

“A lot of people put a lot of time and money into that field.”

The incident marked the second time in the past four weeks vandals damaged ball fields in the county.

The fields at Laura Doerr Park in Jefferson Township suffered about $20,000 in damage after being vandalized around Nov. 29.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 724-284-8100.