Lights shining at last!
ADAMS TWP — Ten years ago, Mars youth baseball players competing under the lights was just a dream.
It became a reality Monday night.
Six brand new banks of LED lights were turned on for the second game of a Bronco division doubleheader at Adams Township Community Park's Veterans Field.
It was the culmination of a decade of fundraising, saving and community support.
Between materials and installation, the project cost $150,000.
“It's a huge accomplishment for the community to come together to make this happen,” said Todd Wearing, vice president of the Mars Baseball and Fastpitch Softball Association. “Some of the baseball players got to practice under the lights last week and they said it was like playing during the day.”
Prior to Monday's nightcap, Rob Cooper threw out the first pitch under the lights. It was done with a heavy heart. Cooper's son, Jake, who played baseball for Mars since he was five years old, died in his sleep three months ago. He was 12.
“His love for baseball was immeasurable,” Rob Cooper said. “It was all he wanted to do.
“Todd called me about a week ago, asking if I would throw the first pitch. I hesitated, but said the only way I'd do it was if I could throw it to Kyle (Krause). He and Jake were best friends.”
Mars baseball board member Stacey Palmer sold then-president Chuck Rhoda on the idea of a lighted field 10 years ago.
“We made a commitment that all the money from fundraising and sponsors would be put toward the lights,” she said. “We tried to save as much money as we could, cut back on things here and there and ran the league on registration fees.”
The amount of money continued to build, but there was still the question as to where the lights would be installed. The association makes use of 10 different fields, five at the community park.
“Putting the lights in here allows us to maximize their use,” said former board member Brett Schultz, as baseball players ages nine to 13 will play under the lights this summer, including in-house teams and travel teams on the weekends as well as several softball teams.
The association does not own the fields at Adams Township Community Park, so installing the lights there required cooperation.“In recent years, the township became more receptive to what we were trying to do,” said Edwin Palmer, former board president.Adams Township supervisor Russ Ford and Haley Geyer, parks and recreation director, were instrumental in the lights being added to Veterans Field, which opened five years ago. Installation was completed last month.Marty McKinney stepped in and offered invaluable knowledge. He is the manager of traffic operations in Cranberry Township and oversees all electric traffic signs there, but also all lighting at the township's sports facilities, including at Graham Park.“He did the thinking behind all of this,” said Adam Schultz, field manager for Mars. “He walked Todd, Don (Kraftjack, board member) and I through the whole thing and we were able to do the installation ourselves. If it weren't for Marty, it would have cost us $50,000 to $60,000 more.”“This helps bring kids together and keeps them out of trouble,” McKinney said. “That's a big deal.“They have a small group here, but they did a helluva job getting this done.”An electric scoreboard also made its debut Monday.Other current members on the board of the Mars Baseball and Fastpitch Softball Association include Larry Fox, John Maschak, Kevin Murray, Donna Giammatteo, Ron Shebek and Carol Nesti.“We challenged people to dream,” Edwin Palmer said. “The people on the current board did a great job to carry this over the finish line.”
