Canfield set to unveil softball field updates


Staff report

CANFIELD

Weather-permitting, Canfield High School will unveil its refurbished softball field this afternoon with a game against Howland.

The Cardinals’ home field has new brick dugouts, fences and backstop. The drainage behind home plate has been upgraded.

The renovation is the first of several phases the parents group CHSondeck.org hopes will be achieved in the future. Over the past year, the group raised approximately $10,000 to finance the dugouts.

Canfield Schools is handling the other upgrades for the initial phase, including new dirt for the infield.

Also new this season, said athletic director Greg Cooper, is the Centofanti Sports Complex, which includes batting cages for the baseball and softball teams. It’s located in between the baseball and softball fields.

The softball field project started after head coach Ray Melewski and parents, John Manenti, Darla Troxil and Tom Troxil decided to form CHSondeck.org.

“We were tired of the wasps nests in the dugouts and on the fences,” Manenti said, referring to the yellow plastic cover on top of fences. “Some of the concrete had gaps where you could trip.”

Field drainage has been an issue for years.

“We have terrible clay problems in Canfield; you see it after a heavy rainstorm or early in the season after the winter melt,” Manenti said. “So we decided to start a grass-roots organization to fund-raise.”

Manetti said the project took off when the school system became involved, providing funds for the drainage project and the fences.

A second phase of improvements would include a scoreboard. Donations may be sent to Canfield Athletic Boosters, c/o CHSondeck.org, Box 991, Canfield, OH 44406.

Future improvements could include improved drainage and turf for the outfield. Long-term, Manenti said his group would like to redo the plaza between the field’s fence and the parking lot.

“We want to create a legacy for the next set of parents,” Manenti said. “[These upgrades] gets us to where we need to be to be competitive with anybody in the state.”

As for the first game, Melewski said it may come later in the week, with games scheduled on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. There is plenty of mud around home plate.

“And the outfield is kind of squishy,” Melewski said after working on the field and dugouts on Saturday.

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