Bearkats Going Back To Their Roots At Holleman Field

Holleman Field, home to Bearkat baseball from 1948 to 2005, is serving as temporary practice field for the Kats, reports the Huntsville Item (Sep. 30):

With the installation of its 183,040-square foot AstroTurf playing surface underway at Don Sanders Stadium, the Sam Houston State baseball team headed back to its roots and is finishing out the remaining three weeks of fall practice at Holleman Field, the squad’s home from 1948-2005.

“We had to get out there and give it a little extreme home makeover,” Bearkats second-year head coach Matt Deggs said. “We spent a four- or five-hour time frame with 38 players and five coaches and were able to get it fixed up in a relatively short period of time.

According to Deggs, the squad filled around 30 holes with sand in the outfield on top of other minor repairs and maintenance. The infield, which has offered a variety of hops, has not stifled a unit that has shown tremendous growth through four full weeks of fall practice.

While the squad has embraced the grittiness and history of Holleman, players and coaches watch anxiously from the baseball offices as heavy machinery strips the current grass surface and readies for the latest upgrade in what has become known as one of the area’s finest facilities.