The Mary Baldwin University baseball team will now be playing its games at Shifflett Field in Grottoes, a 25-minute drive from the Staunton campus.
The school announced the move on Thursday in a press release that touted the increased practice and game flexibility that it will get at Shifflett Field, which was built in 2006.
Local media reports suggest that there was a bit of a forced hand, over the City of Staunton’s desire to have MBU chip in to planned renovations of John Moxie Memorial Stadium, the long-time home of the Valley League’s Staunton Braves.
MBU Baseball, which launched in 2019, had used Moxie Stadium as its base of operations for its first five years.
There’s a good reason that the city is planning renovations – Moxie is a couple decades past due in terms of needing some TLC; and then, in terms of baseball, it’s a bandbox, with the centerfield fence just 360 feet from home plate, turning what would be quiet flyball outs in most parks into homers and doubles.
Shifflett Field, the summer home to the Rockingham County Baseball League’s Grottoes Cardinals, is 380 feet in dead center and 370 feet in the power allies, which is closer to the NCAA standard.
“Moxie is where we got our start, and we are grateful for the support we’ve received from the City of Staunton and the partnership that helped build MBU baseball,” MBU baseball coach Scott Hearn said. “The decision to move is bittersweet, and we are excited to grow the program at Shifflett Field.”
The Fighting Squirrel’s season opener – a doubleheader with Stevenson – is set for Feb. 17 beginning at noon at Shifflett Field.
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Chris Graham
