UAC Baseball Venues
I did football, then basketball. Now that we are a month into the season, let's take a look at next year's UAC lineup. Much of this will be based on appearance. School's don't put out as much information as they do for the other two sports. Otherwise, the criteria are the same: player amenities, fan amenities, curb appeal, playing surface, etc.
9) Cole Field. UWG - Holy cow. If you told me this was a city park, I'd believe it. At 500 capacity, which could be generous, it is the smallest in the conference. There is nothing at this place but a field and a decently appealing grandstand. If there is anything else, locker rooms, training spaces, practice spots, etc. I can't see it on Google maps and the school has nothing on their site. I can only see one bullpen. DII vibes all around.
8) Gary Hogan Field, LR - Field is more accurate than stadium here. The playing surface is the biggest selling point, and it is a quality field. After that, it gets rough. The stands are small, with actual seating capacity at roughly 500. There's nothing official on their website and unaffiliated sites give rough 2,000 more in capacity via standing room and grass. The players have to use other athletic department venues for everyday needs. Fans can expect little beyond the basics.
7) Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park, APU - It is a basic field with basic fan amenities and little curb appeal. Streetview shows a couple of small buildings near what looks like the entry. It gives the impression that APU has other athletic priorities. There's a clubhouse just south of the stadium, giving players their own spaces. It looks like a brick building with little fanfare, though. It also creates a disjointed look for the stadium.
6) Tarleton State Baseball Complex. TSU - Six through four were really close and in person visits could drastically alter that range. There's a new turf field, which is nice and looks good. The grandstand has an erector set feel, but every seat has shade above it. The press box looks like a literal box, similar to a construction site admin office. The players need to use other athletic venues for certain functions, though there is an indoor space that is baseball specific. Curb appeal is rough, but there is a small parking lot where I can't see some angle on google maps. Tarleton has made it a point to improve their facilities. While not at the pace of some schools (looking squarely at you ACU) there are more phases planned in the future.
5) Bear Stadium, UCA - They do a pretty good job of detailing the erector set metal stands with a brick column exterior. This put it just ahead of TSU, as they are similar in other metrics. It's all bleacher seating though. The integration of shade, press box and stands are well done for a stadium at this level. The exterior is just brick fencing though. Little player amenities outside of the basic baseball needs. No locker rooms, indoor spaces or offices.
4) Earle Combs Stadium, EKU - Roughly the size as Cole Field, but it at least looks like a college venue. It has decent player features such as hitting cages and bullpens. The press box is there, but basic. It does look really, really good from the parking lot. This put it just ahead of TSU. The rest of the exterior is the standard fence however. It has a great outfield view as well, something not as common in this conference. The press box is one of the better to be found.
3) Clay Gould Ballpark, UTA - With the Justin Wilson clubhouse and the indoor practice facility, the players have their own space, second to none. I've covered the Rangers for years and it is on pace with that. The playing surface is widely considered top of the line. Curb appeal was improved exponentially in 2004. The clubhouse and practice space are the same architectural style, creating a legit stadium feel from home plate to right field. The fan amenities are okay, with general needs met in a pleasing space. Video board creates a quality game day atmosphere. Shade is tremendously lacking and fans constantly shift seats in mid-day games in April and May. Two-thirds of the seating is bleacher, though it still is the second largest seating capacity in the UAC.
2) Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium, UNA - This is the newest venue on this list, opening this year. UNA site said construction is still ongoing here and is paused for gamedays. Built in conjunction with a new football stadium, there was tremendous opportunity to collaborate the space, but the football portion is past centerfield. Locker rooms, offices and training space could and likely are shared in the football space, just in a little bit of an awkward manner for baseball. The streetview is still construction space, so curb appeal is hard to grade outside of renderings. I'm comfortable putting it at second, and it very well could be first. But like when I made the basketball list, I wasn't ready to move EECU up based on limited info and I'm taking the same conservative approach here.
1) Crutcher Scott Field, ACU - To say this place was renovated is a bit of an understatement as it was basically rebuilt. Its player space is first class. The playing surface is quality. It looks great walking up and fans aren't lacking for a game day experience. It has the largest seating capacity of the UAC stadiums. It looks great on TV. ACU has aggressively invested in its athletic facilities. Crutcher Scott is no exception.
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