The upcoming 2024 baseball season at MCHS marks a big change made to the program, as the team moves away from its former home at Petersen Park. A new turf field with a sod outfield is being built behind Upper Campus, which used to accommodate the old soccer field.
The field is currently being constructed at the moment and will feature a turf infield, a bullpens for the teams pitchers, batting cages, a new press box, bleachers and a sod outfield. The field’s construction should be done before the beginning of March, and the former varsity field at Petersen Park will be given to the freshman for their own field as well.
Many people involved with Warrior Athletics are excited and optimistic about the new field, as it marks a big change to the program with many benefits for the team. Athletic Director Chris Madson, is one of the many people at MCHS who is excited for the new opportunity, and plans to use the field outside of the high school season to help our feeder teams develop players.
“We will be working with the community and feeder programs on creating a system that allows them to use the field as well, much like we do at McCracken,” said Madson.
Head varsity baseball coach Brian Rockweiler, is also very excited for the field due to it benefiting all teams in the program, and is excited for the shift for on-campus games due to it being easier for the team to travel and warm up.
“The most exciting part about the field is being able to play on campus. Even though we had nice crowds at Peterson Park, nothing replaces the atmosphere of playing on your high school campus,” explained Rockweiler. “Being on campus will allow us to take pre game batting practice and offer more opportunities to practice. We will have the best playing surface in the area and we will not have to worry about bad weather or field conditions.”
Rockweiler also feels the transition will be smooth to a new field, and feels that the new field is a benefit to all levels of the baseball program consisting of FROSH, JV, and varsity.
“The transition from Peterson Park to playing on campus should not be a difficult one. There will be some changes, but the changes will define positive,” stated Rockweiler. “The best part of the whole transition is that not only will our JV and Varsity benefit from a new field, our Freshman will move to Peterson Park giving them the best Freshman field in the conference.”
Rockweiler is not the only part of the coaching staff of the varsity team who is ecstatic about the new field, assistant coach and social science teacher, Cody Freund, is enthusiastic about the field as well.
“Definitely excited about the new field. I think coach Rock, coach Badgley, and myself take pictures of it and update each other any time we walk by it during the day. We are going to have the best facilities of anyone around, which is exciting for the players and our program as a whole,” said Freund.
Freund also feels that the overall support from students at MCHS will increase during home games, and thinks the team will benefit from the increased support throughout the season.
“I think the support we get from the student body, from the community, etc. will go up even more with the field being at school. Warrior Nation always packs the stands for our guys every game, we definitely get the most student support of any team we play, but now with it on campus I think that we are going to get even more people showing up,” stated Freund.
The field’s construction marks McHenry’s jump to a new facility with the team’s aspirations this season being another state run similar to the 2021 season, and marks a new “beginning” for the program with hopes of increased support from students from now having one of the best fields not only in the FVC but the state.