Instead of kicking up dirt, ground balls bounding through the new infield at Pullman Park kicked up tiny granules of rubber.

Runners sliding into second base didn't have to dust off their uniforms. Infielders diving for grounders jumped to their feet grime-free.

In the new-look Pullman Park — rough around the edges, but nearly complete — even the infield dirt is synthetic and high-tech.

"If you are around long enough, you will see everything," said Butler High coach Dave Florie,

Florie has been coaching baseball for the better part of three decades. It seemed like Pullman Park was under renovation for nearly that long.

"My first thoughts?" said Butler senior Bill Coleman when he first caught glimpse of the Tornado's new home. "It's about time."

But the doors — well, more like the two outfield gates through which fans were able to enter the field — of the reconstructed historic ballpark were opened for the first time Monday as the Golden Tornado hosted Hempfield.

Butler lost 5-3 in eight innings, but the fans and the players liked what they saw of their new digs.

The bleachers were incomplete and construction workers were busy putting the finishing touches on the facade outside the stadium, but the field was ready to go.

Many of the Butler seniors had never played at Pullman Park until Tuesday.

The park opened in the 1930s and was home to a New York Yankees farm club. Future Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig played at Pullman.

Now senior shortstop Darren Blakley can say he played there, too.

"I grew up coming to games here with my dad," Blakley said. "Now I get to play the first-ever game on this new field. It's going to be a beautiful place to play when it is done."

The biggest adjustment for the players was getting acclimated to the new infield.

Good ol' fashioned dirt could be found around home plate and on the pitcher's mound and natural grass filled the outfield, but the infield surface was completely artificial.

The synthetic grass looked dark green and plush and sparkled in the sunlight. The artificial dirt area of the infield was a dark red and resembled clay.

What the players found most surprising, though, was how slow the surface was.

"You would think it would be faster," Blakley said. "It's a lot different than playing on grass. This stuff kills a lot of ground balls. You really have to hit it hard to get it through the infield."

Butler catcher Ryan Geibel was OK with that.

"As a catcher, I know all my one-hop throws to second will bounce the same way every time," he said.

Butler will have to wait a little longer for its second game at the ballpark.

The next two scheduled home games for the Golden Tornado, Wednesday againstNorthAllegheny and Monday against North Hills, have been switched to road contests.

Butler will play again at Pullman Park April 26 againstEllwood City.

That means, weather permitting, the Golden Tornado will play 10 of their first 11 games on the road.

A tough stretch to be sure, but one that does not necessarily doom the team to a poor start, the Golden Tornado insisted.

"It's a good test for us," Blakley said. "If we can get through that OK, we'll have all those home games at the end of the schedule. We'll be OK."

Florie said he had goose bumps when he walked through the gates before the game Monday.

Florie had coached at Pullman Park when he was leading Seneca Valley's baseball team. But this was the first time Pullman was his home park.

"We talked about all the history behind the park," Florie said. "Ten years from now, 20 years from now, these kids can come back here and say they were the first to play at the new Pullman Park."