Gold standard for D3 field/facilities

My son and I really liked the Washington & Lee baseball field in Lexington, VA when he was being recruited there.  That was our gold standard as he considered other D3 schools.

We have family friends who have played at Randolph-Macon (Ashland, VA) and Christopher Newport University (Newport News, VA) and I thought their field and facilities were pretty darn nice.

It's close to being finished......but gotta think that Marietta College has got to be near the top with this gem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et5Zc_M2iag

On the flip side it’s hard to believe this is a 70K per year top academic with a 1.6 billion dollar endowment.

https://athletics.bowdoin.edu/...ities/files/baseball

i guess “ You’re laughing at us now, but you will be working for us later” works for the program. They have an excellent, long tenured coach. I’m surprised he can’t push for more. 

Cal Lu baseball facilities and sports and fitness center are pretty impressive, as is the whole athletic side of the campus.

Pomona-Pitzer's background view alone makes it one of the best

https://www.sagehens.com/sports/bsb/Alumni_Field

3and2Fastball posted:

Pomona-Pitzer's background view alone makes it one of the best

https://www.sagehens.com/sports/bsb/Alumni_Field

The view...and the weather.

Buckeye 2015 posted:

It's close to being finished......but gotta think that Marietta College has got to be near the top with this gem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et5Zc_M2iag

That looks pretty nice, plus a great Engineering program there. 

Gotta say this Dorm/Players Lounge at Swarthmore is pretty spiffy looking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ISyVaiH5y0

NYU plays at MCU Park, home of the NY Penn League (short A) champion Brooklyn Cyclones.  The good news is that It's a beautiful, new field with a view of the beach.  The bad news is that it's almost an hour from campus.

Wechson posted:

Buckeye 2015 posted:

It's close to being finished......but gotta think that Marietta College has got to be near the top with this gem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et5Zc_M2iag

That looks pretty nice, plus a great Engineering program there. 

For petroleum engineering, yes, the other engineering programs I believe are similar to a 3-2. 

https://www.marietta.edu/progr...ineering-dual-degree

https://www.marietta.edu/progr...etroleum-engineering

I can tell you several ball payer have gone there to major in Petroleum Engineering, But few finish up in both Baseball for 4 years and a degree in Petroleum engineering. 

Well the Wiac schools (big public institutions have some nice fields.

https://uwlathletics.com/sport...4/BB_0714142722.aspx

https://www.uwoshkoshtitans.co...lities/alumnistadium

https://www.letsgopioneers.com...Kendall-Murray-Field

Not quite up to par with some of the others, https://athletics.uwsp.edu/spo...24131958.aspx?id=283

Another not on par with those above: https://athletics.uwstout.edu/.../GEN_0708091058.aspx

https://uwwsports.com/sports/2...29/prucha-field.aspx

In the NCAC I was always partial to Wabash's Goodrich park. 

https://sports.wabash.edu/faci.../goodrich-ballpark/2

JCG posted:

NYU plays at MCU Park, home of the NY Penn League (short A) champion Brooklyn Cyclones.  The good news is that It's a beautiful, new field with a view of the beach.  The bad news is that it's almost an hour from campus.

Son pitched there senior year right after a storm ruined and flooded our opponents home (grass) field.   Loved the atmosphere.  I felt like I was at the circus.

fenwaysouth posted:

JCG posted:

NYU plays at MCU Park, home of the NY Penn League (short A) champion Brooklyn Cyclones.  The good news is that It's a beautiful, new field with a view of the beach.  The bad news is that it's almost an hour from campus.

Son pitched there senior year right after a storm ruined the opponents home field.   Loved the atmosphere.

 

 

I love that they are named after a roller coaster. 

Salisbury University has an amazing facility. Heaters in the dugouts!

https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/sports/2018/02/19/salisbury-university-opens-new-3-8-million-baseball-stadium/349246002/

Randolph-Macon and Johns Hopkins also have great facilities

fenwaysouth posted:

JCG posted:

NYU plays at MCU Park, home of the NY Penn League (short A) champion Brooklyn Cyclones.  The good news is that It's a beautiful, new field with a view of the beach.  The bad news is that it's almost an hour from campus.

Son pitched there senior year right after a storm ruined and flooded our opponents home (grass) field.   Loved the atmosphere.  I felt like I was at the circus.

 

 

It's even cooler on a warm day in the summer.

(the on-deck batter is Jake Mangum, who was discussed here quite a bit)

RJM posted:

On the flip side it’s hard to believe this is a 70K per year top academic with a 1.6 billion dollar endowment.

https://athletics.bowdoin.edu/...ities/files/baseball

i guess “ You’re laughing at us now, but you will be working for us later” works for the program. They have an excellent, long tenured coach. I’m surprised he can’t push for more. 

 

Was the movie “Undrafted” filmed at that field? Looks very similar. 

Wechson posted:

Gotta say this Dorm/Players Lounge at Swarthmore is pretty spiffy looking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ISyVaiH5y0

That is really sweet but then they show the dugout and bleacher area around home plate and it is a big disappointment.   The next video that comes up is Willamette... great bleachers and field but crappy locker.  Combine the two.

Concordia University in Austin, TX has very nice on campus facilities, and it’s in one of the best college towns too. 

In the Centennial - I enjoyed going to Gettysburg - the view beyond LF is the battlefield. Of course when it  comes to spending money, Johns Hopkins field certainly is nice albeit a very short RF/LF porch (if you're a dead pull hitter).  My son says he enjoyed Washington College atmosphere with the dorms along the in OF fence keeping everyone "entertained" while grilling, drinking, etc.  

Hamilton has a new turf field (2016) and turf indoor practice facility (2018) with cages (setup with HitTrax) that are pretty sweet.

https://athletics.hamilton.edu...oad_baseball_complex

https://athletics.hamilton.edu...or_practice_facility

Colby College's baseball complex opened in 2015-16 making Colby the first college in NESCAC to feature synthetic turf fields for baseball and softball.

https://www.gocolbymules.com/f...es/baseball-softball*

*the use of "harbinger" in describing athletic facilities has got to be a first, even for a NESCAC school!!

Scranton

https://athletics.scranton.edu/Facilities/volpe_field

I'm mostly familiar with some of the D III VA schools I have visited over my son's travel ball the years.

Randolph Macon has a very nice field and fun game atmosphere.

Christopher Newport has a really nice design.  The fence used to be very weathered but still a very nice place to play.  

Mary Washington had a nice small stadium feel to it.

Hamden-Sydney was a very nice field and small stadium feel.

Washington and Lee was top notch as well.

I'm not sure if any of these schools had indoor facilities that would be nice to have in the Virginia Spring climate.  But they were all really nice places to play or watch a game.  Most of the Virginia D III schools have very nice fields for the fans and players.  We are probably very lucky compared to many locations. 

BishopLeftiesDad posted:

Scranton

https://athletics.scranton.edu/Facilities/volpe_field

wow that's very nice

 I’m at Swarthmore now for parent weekend. A couple things: if you can’t hear what the coach is saying on the video I’ve been told if you use earbuds phones you can hear it. I had trouble on my phone. He’s pretty engaging. The second thing is when the weather is bad some parents watch the game from that lounge. Finally, some times the action on that big deck is more entertaining than the game. I wouldn’t want to be an opposing outfielder.

you get an idea at the 1:45 mark of this video. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2-up7VC0UGo

smokeminside posted:

 I’m at Swarthmore now for parent weekend. A couple things: if you can’t hear what the coach is saying on the video I’ve been told if you use earbuds phones you can hear it. I had trouble on my phone. He’s pretty engaging. The second thing is when the weather is bad some parents watch the game from that lounge. Finally, some times the action on that big deck is more entertaining than the game. I wouldn’t want to be an opposing outfielder.

you get an idea at the 1:45 mark of this video. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2-up7VC0UGo

Interesting.  What do you make of the program?  Will say the staff hasn’t been particular responsive to emails, my son had communication from pretty much every school he reached out to after Headfirst with the exception of the Swarthmore staff.  They pushed their camps but didn’t respond to direct inquiry emails which my son found a little off putting considering how responsive every other school was.  

Wechson, sent you a pm. 

Wechson posted:

BishopLeftiesDad posted:

Scranton

https://athletics.scranton.edu/Facilities/volpe_field

wow that's very nice

This was part of a massive project that included new softball and football stadiums as well. 

As others have said, but I will reiterate:

Scranton is a top notch facility....Washington College does have a cool atmosphere with the dorms in the background. 

https://www.playmaasa.com/faci...-athletic-facilitiesMominthestands posted:

Salisbury University has an amazing facility. Heaters in the dugouts!

https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/sports/2018/02/19/salisbury-university-opens-new-3-8-million-baseball-stadium/349246002/

Randolph-Macon and Johns Hopkins also have great facilities

Turf surface in the northeast is a huge recruiting advantage.

https://www.playmaasa.com/faci...-athletic-facilities

My eldest HATES turf fields. He feels that they dumb down fielding, and gives an advantage to lesser fielders. They also get REALLY hot on hot days. I don't know how they play on them in the south during the day. The fields are regularly 20+ F hotter on the surface than grass.

There is no doubt that they are great for limiting rainouts.

57special posted:

My eldest HATES turf fields. He feels that they dumb down fielding, and gives an advantage to lesser fielders. They also get REALLY hot on hot days. I don't know how they play on them in the south during the day. The fields are regularly 20+ F hotter on the surface than grass.

There is no doubt that they are great for limiting rainouts.

And snow as the case may be 

old_school posted:

57special posted:

My eldest HATES turf fields. He feels that they dumb down fielding, and gives an advantage to lesser fielders. They also get REALLY hot on hot days. I don't know how they play on them in the south during the day. The fields are regularly 20+ F hotter on the surface than grass.

There is no doubt that they are great for limiting rainouts.

And snow as the case may be 

And you can shovel turf as well. When my son was in college,  the football field was turf. On several occasions they shoveled the field, so they could practice outside.

57special posted:

My eldest HATES turf fields. He feels that they dumb down fielding, and gives an advantage to lesser fielders. They also get REALLY hot on hot days. I don't know how they play on them in the south during the day. The fields are regularly 20+ F hotter on the surface than grass.

There is no doubt that they are great for limiting rainouts.

No doubt. My 15 yo LOVES turf fields bc the hops are all uniform and predictable.   I think the best idea is turf outfield and infield grass; and a real dirt infield

Fast players love turf. Turf provides a consistent stride and makes them faster. I remember the first time my son played in turf. It was 14u. He slide on wet turf from the normal distance. He knocked the middle infielder taking the throw into left field. I had to convince the umpire it’s was inexperience sliding on wet turf or he was getting tossed, 

I'm not sure how he feels about it today but a couple of years ago my son wasn't a big fan of turf around the plate. As a catcher, a spiked 90mph fastball can be tough to handle in any conditions but turf doesn't slow it down in the least and you really hope it doesn't hit the edge of the plate. He also said "the ball doesn't feel right" whatever that meant. I assume it has to do with the lack of abrasiveness that would otherwise be present in dirt. On the flip side, an intentionally bounced low throw down to second can be really effective on turf.

Turf is smoking hot in the summer - try standing out there for 6, 7, .. 9, innings with black shoes - at least players get to go in the dugouts if they can make the outs...  Still while nice to have for inclement weather - if the field doubles for other rectangular sports, the multitude of lines and perhaps really deep alleys make balls in the gaps a challenge. Endicott is one such example. Tough to play baseball in March/April on the North Shore of MA, but their field is in high demand.

And then there's the health risks, especially if the crumbs are made of ground up tires, and not a safer substance.

Millikin University just built a 5.5 million dollar facility.  A friend of my son just went there for a showcase and couldn’t stop talking about how nice it was.