BGSU baseball officially dedicated the new turf field Saturday before falling 8-5 to Ohio.
During the pregame festivities, Vice President for Athletics Strategy and Director of Athletics Derek van der Merwe spoke to the crowd on a mic in front of the mound, praising the alumni, donors and head coach Kyle Hallock for making the long-awaited renovations a reality.
Shortly after, van der Merwe, Hallock and numerous other key figures in the renovation process cut a red ribbon to ceremoniously open the renovated ballpark.
“It was nice, it was a good experience,” Hallock said. “It was well put together by our administration and well executed by everyone involved.”
To cap off the pregame events, Paul J. Hooker, the lead donor for the project and a national trustee on the BGSU Board of Trustees, through out a ceremonial first pitch to senior catcher Cooper McKenzie.
Saturday marked the first time Hooker saw the field that he donated $1.5 million for.
“When I got here and walked in, a tear came to my eye. I could not believe the finished product,” Hooker said.
On Friday, the Falcons and Bobcats played in the first ever game on the new field, with the Falcons winning 7-0.
The game was also played under the new lights, marking the first night game in the over 60-year history of the stadium.
“With the weather and what the forecast looked like, coach See deserved credit for this, too, in Ohio’s willingness to flex off the three o’clock and go to the six so we could be under the lights,” Hallock said.
Now, the Falcons will go for their first series win of the season Sunday, as the teams battle in a rubber match, with first pitch set for noon. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Noah Seeley and Sam Bork will have a radio broadcast on Falcon Radio, streaming on bgfalconmedia.com.
