Wallace State Cuts Ribbon on New Baseball Field

Wallace State Community College cut the ribbon Saturday on the new baseball field at James C. Bailey Stadium before the Lions took on Northeast Mississippi Community College in a double-header.

"It's a great day to be a Lion," said Wallace State President Dr. Vicki Karolewics. "We have always had a culture of winning here at Wallace State given our winningest coach in the state of Alabama and due to the competitiveness of our baseball team. We are going to have a great year. So, go Lions!"

Head Coach Randy Putman who, with more than 1,200 wins is the winningest coach in the Alabama Community College Conference, thanked Dr. Karolewics for the college's investment in the field and stadium.

"I don't have to cut grass anymore," he joked. "It's a beautiful setting; it's a beautiful place and we'll take good care of it. We're just excited for everyone here to be involved, former players and the guys that we have playing right now."

The field is part of nearly $5 million in investments in athletic facilities at the college this year, including more than $2 million in baseball and softball.

"This is probably one of the best turf fields that I've been on," said sophomore Jayden Martin of Atlanta, Ga. He added that playing on the synthetic turf is much better than natural grass and dirt.

"It's a lot easier to read a bounce-off, like a ground ball, and it's a lot more comfortable to run, field, pitch and hit on. It's a lot more fun to play on and slide on."

Former Wallace State player Chris Browning, who played on the 1997 team that went to the World Series in Grand Junction, Colo., and who threw out the first pitch for Saturday's game, was a little envious of the field. He wished they could have had turf when he played, if only for the easier maintenance. He said he remembers having to paint the field green and Coach Putman calling in a helicopter to dry the field off after a heavy rain.

The college will hold another ribbon-cutting on Saturday, March 8, at 11:30 a.m., for the new softball field, which also received synthetic turf. Everyone is invited to attend, with a special invitation to former Wallace State softball players. There will be free admission and free popcorn for everyone. After the ribbon-cutting, the No. 11-ranked Lions will take on Gadsden State Community College in their first home game of the season.