Softball field damaged sometime Saturday

Staff report

AUSTINTOWN

Township officials are offering a reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever deliberately damaged a softball field at Austintown Park sometime Saturday.

Todd Shaffer, township parks supervisor, said a group of people had a mud fight in the infield of ball field No. 5 at the park, 6000 Kirk Road.

Shaffer said, “I just don’t understand that.” He explained that maintenance workers discovered the damage Sunday and that the fields last were used by the Austintown Girls Softball League late Friday night. He said the damage “pretty much took out the entire infield.”

He further explained there were some parts that were dug 6 to 10 inches deep in the mud, and footprints in the mud showed there were adults and small children. Police are investigating.

Trustees are offering a $500 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Anyone with information is asked to call the police at 330-799-9721.

Trustee Lisa Oles, in an email Tuesday, said, “For individuals to be so thoughtless and disrespectful to play on these fields in wet conditions and without a permit is unacceptable.”

Just 21/2 months ago, the township and the softball league split the $14,000 cost to revamp the three softball fields at the park.

Shaffer estimated the damage at between $1,000 and $2,000, with the worst being an 8-foot circumference around home plate.

Shaffer said the league’s annual Fall Ball, an instructional fall league for softball players, will go on as planned this year in a few weeks.

“For someone to come out and destroy it like that; it’s frustrating,” Shaffer said.