Field gets new sod

STEUBENVILLE - It was a perfect day for a baseball game.

Mike Denny stood on the mound surveying the field and his infield crew before signaling for the first move from the Pennsylvania visiting team.

Friday also was a perfect day for laying down new sod in the infield at the Vaccaro baseball field.

Denny and a six-man crew from Total Lawn Care of Wintersville enjoyed the perfect fall weather early Friday to install new sod on top of the perfectly groomed infield at the baseball field at Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Before the sod was transported into the infield area, Total Lawn Care employees were raking out and picking up every stone and pebble they could spot in the dirt.

"We got the sod from the Vicnor Sod Co., which is located near Butler, Pa. And they have the machine that lays it down, which is a lot easier than doing this by hand," observed Denny.

"What used to take all day at the least will be done in three or four hours," added Denny.

The Total Lawn Care crew spent the past week raking the infield and part of the outfield and preparing it for the sod replacement.

"This was badly needed. The ground crew dragged the infield on a regular basis and over time that created a crown in the infield and a lip at the edge of the outfield. We are putting down a new clay mixture between second and third base that is the same material used at PNC Park for the Pirates. And it will be all grass between home plate and first base and from third to home," explained Denny.

"We brought in new topsoil and the clay mixture about a week ago and started working the dirt. We came in Thursday to reset the sprinkler heads, and we will have this new sod installed by later in the afternoon," said Denny.

"This is actually a perfect day. This is a good day to do this work and rain is coming in tonight. All we will need is water, water and more water and fertilizer and this new sod will take root, and we will have a great infield. And this is the best time of the year to install sod," said Denny. "And between the college, high school teams and the Teramana-Argonne Post 33 American Legion baseball team, this is really about the only time we can get this done," added Denny.

He noted he and the Total Lawn Care crews have worked on a number of baseball fields in the area.

"We do several fields every year, the Cameron High School field, the baseball field in Toronto, but this has to be among the best fields in the Ohio Valley. And the credit really goes to (longtime Legion coach) Mark Stacy and the volunteers who maintain this field all year round. If Mark Stacy didn't devote his time to this complex, you wouldn't see a field of this quality," stated Denny.

Greg Besozzi, a Steubenville resident and retired Harrison Hills School District principal, was watching the sod-laying operation from the third base area.

"Originally home plate was out there where the outfield is now. That was in the early 1970s. And they turned this field all around later on and now look at it," related Besozzi.

"My son played ball at Big Red for Fred Heatherington and legion ball under Mark Stacy. That's when I would come here and help out a little. Now that I am retired I try to continue helping with the field," said Besozzi.

"Fred and Mark are carrying on a tradition that was started by Ang Vaccaro. And it scares me a little that after they are gone, who will pick this up and maintain this field and the traditions here," commented Besozzi.

Jim Pint, the sod machine operator, was slowly laying the rolls of sod in straight lines while the Total Lawn Care employees used special spiked rakes to stretch the grass into place. Except for John Santoro, who was dropping to his knees to pull the sod and trim small pieces as the roll of sod was fitted into place.

"This is a lot easier than laying all this out by hand," Santoro observed.

(Gossett can be contacted at dgossett@heraldstaronline.com.)