#4 Drew Standefer, freshman, nursing, tried to break through the game flow on Wednesday afternoon at the new UM-St. Louis Baseball field. UM-St. Louis lost against Missouri Western 13-3. The next game will be against Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon. (Photo: Riki Tanaka for The Current)

On Wednesday afternoon, March 10, the Tritons baseball team hosted their first home game in five years at the new stadium located on the south campus, an opening that both fans and team have anxiously awaited.

It all started when Express Scripts bought about half of the land where the previous baseball field was located.

“In the negotiating process, someone dropped the ball when it came to the relocation of the University of Missouri-St. Louis baseball field, unfortunately this process took five years to fix,” Jim Brady, University of Missouri-St. Louis head baseball coach, said.

The team was forced to await the building of a proper stadium, which was set to open in the spring of 2009, but due to weather problems and unapproved construction could not be used.

“We had severe drainage problems and the water was not draining off the field properly,” Brady said.

This caused the water to settle in the perimeter of the grass area and around home plate. As a result, problems started to occur with the dirt, sand and top soil mix, causing the players to slip.

“We have a responsibility to our student athletes to put them in a safe environment and last spring the facility was not completed to where it was safe,” Lori Flanagan, UM-St. Louis athletics director, said. “Adjustments were made for the team and coaches to go off campus and play.”

Some of these adjustments involved the use of the field at SIU-Edwardsville, the Gateway Grizzlies ballpark in Sauget, Ill., moving home games to the schools of UM-St. Louis’ opponents and holding practices inside the Mark Twain Building.

“Not having a facility to practice in restricts the athlete’s ability to reach his full potential,” Brady said.

While the left over space from the old field was also an optional practice sight, it was agreed that the space was not of decent size for practice.

Eventually, on a sunny afternoon, the use of the stadium became reality. As the Tritons and their opponents, the Missouri Western Griffons, performed their wam-up drills on the field, their guests found themselves acquatined with their new surroundings at the first UM-St. Louis home game.

“The stadium seating is much better than community college stadiums,” Kayla Schriefer, junior, psychology, said.

Kathleen Sullivan Brown, professor in the college of education, appreciated the convenience in the stadium’s location.

“I am a faculty member and I can look right over here at the field,” Brown said. “We were waiting for this for a long time.”

It turns out this five-year wait for a home stadium has had just as much of an impact on Triton fans as it has had on the team.

“I am dating one of the players so it is nice to not have to drive so far to see him,” Anne Prenger, sophomore, nursing, said.

While the Tritons did not receive the outcome they wanted for their first game in the new home stadium, they still succeeded in the hearts of others.

Carolyn Jones, a UM-St. Louis alum and mother of Missouri Western player Nathan Jones, gave off nothing but positive energy towards the Tritons.

“I think their team has great potential and will have a good season this year, and I think that the new baseball field looks great,” Jones said.

As for head coach Brady, the team as a whole is a success in how they have handled their setbacks.

“I give them all the credit in the world for persevering and trying to overcome the obstacles that they have attempted to hurdle,” Brady said.

The Tritons baseball game Wednesday afternoon was more than just a game—it was a long awaited re-establishment of roots.

“There is no question, it has been a long time coming and I hope for it to be a re-birth of the winning tradition that we established when we had our own home field,” Brady said. “Even in baseball, there is no place like home.”

On Wednesday afternoon, March 10, the Tritons baseball team hosted their first home game in five years at the new stadium located on the south campus, an opening that both fans and team have anxiously awaited.

It all started when Express Scripts bought about half of the land where the previous baseball field was located.

“In the negotiating process, someone dropped the ball when it came to the relocation of the University of Missouri-St. Louis baseball field, unfortunately this process took five years to fix,” Jim Brady, University of Missouri-St. Louis head baseball coach, said.

The team was forced to await the building of a proper stadium, which was set to open in the spring of 2009, but due to weather problems and unapproved construction could not be used.

“We had severe drainage problems and the water was not draining off the field properly,” Brady said.

This caused the water to settle in the perimeter of the grass area and around home plate. As a result, problems started to occur with the dirt, sand and top soil mix, causing the players to slip.

“We have a responsibility to our student athletes to put them in a safe environment and last spring the facility was not completed to where it was safe,” Lori Flanagan, UM-St. Louis athletics director, said. “Adjustments were made for the team and coaches to go off campus and play.”

Some of these adjustments involved the use of the field at SIU-Edwardsville, the Gateway Grizzlies ballpark in Sauget, Ill., moving home games to the schools of UM-St. Louis’ opponents and holding practices inside the Mark Twain Building.

“Not having a facility to practice in restricts the athlete’s ability to reach his full potential,” Brady said.

While the left over space from the old field was also an optional practice sight, it was agreed that the space was not of decent size for practice.

Eventually, on a sunny afternoon, the use of the stadium became reality. As the Tritons and their opponents, the Missouri Western Griffons, performed their wam-up drills on the field, their guests found themselves acquatined with their new surroundings at the first UM-St. Louis home game.

“The stadium seating is much better than community college stadiums,” Kayla Schriefer, junior, psychology, said.

Kathleen Sullivan Brown, professor in the college of education, appreciated the convenience in the stadium’s location.

“I am a faculty member and I can look right over here at the field,” Brown said. “We were waiting for this for a long time.”

It turns out this five-year wait for a home stadium has had just as much of an impact on Triton fans as it has had on the team.

“I am dating one of the players so it is nice to not have to drive so far to see him,” Anne Prenger, sophomore, nursing, said.

While the Tritons did not receive the outcome they wanted for their first game in the new home stadium, they still succeeded in the hearts of others.

Carolyn Jones, a UM-St. Louis alum and mother of Missouri Western player Nathan Jones, gave off nothing but positive energy towards the Tritons.

“I think their team has great potential and will have a good season this year, and I think that the new baseball field looks great,” Jones said.

As for head coach Brady, the team as a whole is a success in how they have handled their setbacks.

“I give them all the credit in the world for persevering and trying to overcome the obstacles that they have attempted to hurdle,” Brady said.

The Tritons baseball game Wednesday afternoon was more than just a game—it was a long awaited re-establishment of roots.

“There is no question, it has been a long time coming and I hope for it to be a re-birth of the winning tradition that we established when we had our own home field,” Brady said. “Even in baseball, there is no place like home.”