A little more than 20 years ago, the dirt infield on the corner of Malvern and Ashford streets was gravel. The white lines outlined parking spots rather than foul lines, and the only things that were “dug out” were unfixed potholes in the street.
In 1988, Boston University started its varsity softball program. Suddenly, that pile of gravel was pressed into a diamond of quintessential 1980s accommodations. Neon green astroturf sat atop a bed of pre-tempurpedic era foam meant to cushion the running feet and players’ bodies as they slid. Under that was a layer of asphalt. Sandboxes created the pitchers mound and outlined the bases as if to symbolize the youth of the new program.
There was no scoreboard. There were no bleachers. There wasn’t even an outfield fence; players could hit the ball and pray it rolled far enough to leg out a triple.
“When we got the astroturf field it was so bad,” said Assistant Athletics Director and Facilities Manager Alan Weinberger. “There was no seating for fans and holes in the netting. I had students holding up wooden scoreboards behind home plate and getting plunked by balls.”
Eventually, the necessity for an outfield boundary prompted the instillation of a plastic outfield fence.
“We had plastic fencing that would fall down with slight wind. We would have games that players would go crashing into the fence, knocking it over and delaying the games,” Weinberger said.
Despite the lackluster conditions, the BU softball team managed to maintain a level of consistent success. And by the 2001 season BU’s efforts were rewarded with a newly renovated field worthy of the players who graced its surface.
Gone was the ’80s throwback turf and in its place a 21st century environmentalist’s dream – a brand new all-natural $400,000 field equipped with bullpens, batting cages, a sound system and a permanent fence. The field maintenance crew now manicured grass instead of hosing down plastic. Players no longer dove into in sandboxes but slid in the mud. Fans could sit in bleachers and cheer on their team without worrying about their cars getting hit by foul balls. Seating was no longer on a “bring-your-own” basis.
The improvements were well deserved for a team that is the definition of home-field advantage, owning an .815 winning percentage on the Charles River campus. “Home-field dominance” seems a more appropriate term.
“We have a great home record that is a direct result of the pride that our athletes and coaches take at their own facility. Almost immediately after we completed the field our winning percentages rose dramatically,” Weinberger said.
The Softball field was reopened on April 4, 2001, with a two-game sweep of the Brown University Bears. The Terriers did not lose another home game until they played Harvard University on April 2, 2002, ending a 19-game winning streak with their 2-1 loss to the Crimson. The loss to Harvard was the only home loss the team suffered that season. Since its reopening, the Terriers have never had a season with a losing home record.
BU’s home dominance has brought it many accolades, from America East championships to individual All-American honors. There is no doubt that the field they play on has a mystic quality to it. The field has been home to gritty conference clinchers and races for first place.
“Since I’ve been here, one of the highlights was when we needed to win two out of four games against Albany to clinch the America East Championship [in 2003],” said softball coach Shawn Rychcik. “We lost the first two on Saturday and came back to win [both games] on Sunday . . . that was a wild weekend. We had our backs against the wall.”
That two-game win in May 2003 helped the Terriers clinch the America East championships. They then went on to win the conference tournament and play in the NCAA tournament.
Last year, the Terriers won the conference title for the first time since that 2003 season due, in part, to their home sweep in a doubleheader against the University of Maryland-Baltimore County on April 21.
“That was our big moment last year where we got the chance to get into first place and go on to win the America East,” Rychcik said.
The renovation of seven years ago garnered the Terriers some long-awaited recognition. BU finally got the chance to host the conference championships at the Softball Field last year after eight consecutive berths in the tournament.
Weinberger plans to continue highlighting the achievements of the softball program with plaques and banners around the field that has been witness to the program’s consistent success.
The aesthetically pleasing atmosphere of the field is complimented perfectly with the dominance of the teams that have graced its base paths. The program and its field lure students from all over the country with its standard of excellence and opposing teams know they have an uphill battle when they come to Boston.
“Softball around the country has become a priority at a lot of places. I think [having a nice field] allows us to keep pace with teams . . . [and] some of the other schools in the conference,” Rychcik said.
For Rychcik, the field symbolizes the team’s history of winning and gives the players a level of comfort when they walk on its grass. It is that comfort level that Rychcik feels is the core of the Terriers’ success.
“You always want to play well on your home field,” Rychcik said. “It makes a big difference when you are able to come to a place you are comfortable. We take pride in winning at home and it should be a comfortable place [for us], where it’s hard for other teams to come in here and win.”