Pleasant Unity community breathes new life into ballfield

Megan Tomasic
Thursday, April 4, 2019 10:30 p.m. | Thursday, April 4, 2019 10:30 p.m.

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Shane Dunlap | Tribune-Review

Grady Ruffner, 9, watches a teammate at bat for the Pleasant Unity Mudcats 10U baseball team at their newly renovated home field Thursday night, March 4, 2019 at the Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department. The field, which had not been used in nearly 50 years, was fully renovated by parents and members of the team.

Shane Dunlap | Tribune-Review

Families watch from the back of the outfield at the newly renovated home field for the Pleasant Unity Mudcats 10U baseball team Thursday night, March 4, 2019 at the Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department.

Shane Dunlap | Tribune-Review

Youth baseball players with the Pleasant Unity Mudcats 10U baseball team watch their teammates at bat against Penn-Trafford Warriors 10U team at their newly renovated home field Thursday night, March 4, 2019 at the Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department.

Shane Dunlap | Tribune-Review

Players with the Penn-Trafford Warriors 10U team jump up and down while watching from the dugouts at their newly renovated home field for the Pleasant Unity Mudcats on Thursday night, March 4, 2019 at the Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department.

Shane Dunlap | Tribune-Review

A player with the Pleasant Unity Mudcats 10U baseball team races back to the field after collecting a foul ball from the trees at their newly renovated home field Thursday night, March 4, 2019 at the Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department.

Shane Dunlap | Tribune-Review

Liam Reese, 9, a catcher with the Pleasant Unity Mudcats 10U baseball team, buckles up his catcher gear before taking to the team’s newly renovated home field Thursday night, March 4, 2019 at the Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department.

Shane Dunlap | Tribune-Review

The Pleasant Unity Mudcats 10U baseball team bats against Penn-Trafford Warriors 10U team at their newly renovated home field Thursday night, March 4, 2019 at the Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department.

Shane Dunlap | Tribune-Review

Grady Ruffner, 9, eyes up a pitch during a game for the Pleasant Unity Mudcats 10U baseball team at their newly renovated home field Thursday night, March 4, 2019 at the Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department.

Almost 50 years after the last official pitch was thrown, a Pleasant Unity baseball field has new life breathed into it.

Located behind the Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department, what was once a grassy spot where kids occasionally threw a ball around, is now a functioning baseball field with an infield, pitching mound, fencing and bleachers.

“When we went out there it was literally just a grass field with just a backstop,” said Brian Bronson, whose son plays for Mudcats 10U. “Over the course of the last two years we’ve taken it from total grass to a really nice infield.”

Kids who play for Mudcats 10U, a team on the Cal Ripken Baseball League, needed a field where they could practice and play games. Bronson’s dad, who used to play on the field, suggested the location.

Owned by the Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department in Unity, Bronson and parents of the team worked with Bernard Cutlip, safety officer with the department, to renovate the field — a task that’s cost about $10,000 so far.

“It’s been there for many many many years,” Cutlip said. “There’s been a lot of baseball and softball played on that field.”

For Cutlip, redoing the field is personal. His dad was one of the people who originally built the field that was often used by coal miners after a day of work, he said. Now, it sits next to a playground owned and maintained by Unity Township.

After approaching Cutlip about two years ago and getting permission to renovate the field, team parents started fundraising and making contributions. While the field is ready for play, it still needs work, like adding a dugout for players, Bronson said.

The team has used the field for practice over the last year, but their first officials game was Thursday.

“It’s awesome,” head coach Matt Ruffner said. “There’s so many baseball fields that are just left to waste and you can’t do anything with them. So we put a ton of work in and we can call our own.”

The Mudcats only plan to use the field for another two years. Once the kids turn 13, they’re required to play on a bigger field, Bronson said.

After that, it will be left to the community.

“It gives the community a nice place to go,” Bronson said. “The fire department has always been accommodating for local kids to come and play and use the field.”