| The
Clarion-Ledger
Fans
walking into Smith-Wills Stadium tonight expecting
to see maroon and white or red and blue will notice
other hues first: Vibrant green, bright white
and burnt orange. That's the colors of the new
Sprinturf
at Smith-Wills, which will be christened in the
Mayor's Trophy game between Mississippi State
and Ole Miss. Installation of the $855,000 artificial
surface was completed over the weekend.
The
entire baseball playing surface — except
the mound — is covered with multi-colored
Sprinturf. It's
bright green in what would normally be the grass
areas, burnt orange for what would be dirt on
a normal
baseball diamond, and bright white for the batter's
boxes and foul lines.
"Things
are going to be a little different to start with,"
said Con Maloney, one of the owners of the Jackson
Senators, the independent minor league team that
calls Smith-Wills home and operates the stadium.
"...(but) I think the coaches (at MSU and
Ole Miss) are going to be extremely thrilled when
they
play on it. The roll is fantastic."
The
new surface was a hit Monday night when Belhaven
College practiced on it.
Shortstop Nick Brister said ground balls were
"kind of slower" but he never had to
guess on the hops. "It's
real true, no bad hops at all," Brister said.
"I was very impressed."
Chase Coley, the Blazers' center fielder, said
he "felt kind of weird" when he first
ran on the springy turf
but soon adjusted. By the end of practice, he
said, he was tracking down balls in the gaps that
hecouldn't
normally get to. "It makes you feel like
you're running a whole lot quicker," he said.
With
$25 million Trustmark Park set to open soon in
Pearl, there has been speculation that theMayor's
Trophy game would leave Jackson after this season.
Maloney said don't look for that tohappen.
"I've
talked to the athletic directors at both schools
and we've reached a tentative agreement to extend
(the
series at Smith-Wills) over the next two years,"
Maloney said. "We've got to work out the
details, but
I'm satisfied it will happen." Craig
Brasfield, the Sens' general manager, said other
events set for the stadium are the high school
baseball
championship series for all classes and several
regional or national age group baseball events.
Ramie
Ford, the city's director of parks and recreation,
said he's negotiating with a Jackson high schoolto
play its football games at Smith-Wills this fall.
His goal is to use the stadium for baseball, softball,
soccer
and football.
"This
is a total rejuvenation of this facility,"
Maloney said. "It has become an all-purpose
facility."
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