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KB Peralta makes a throw to first base as the Marshall baseball team practices Thursday at Jack Cook Field in Huntington.
Ƶsistant coaches Tim Donnelly (left) Brian Karlet (right) conduct fielding drills and as the Marshall baseball team practices Thursday, Feb. 1, at Jack Cook Field in Huntington.
Pitcher Eddie Leon warms up as the Marshall baseball team practices Thursday at Jack Cook Field in Huntington.
Marshall baseball coach Greg Beals gives instructions as the Thundering Herd practices on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, at Jack Cook Field in Huntington.
KB Peralta field a grounder at third base as the Marshall baseball team practices Thursday, Feb. 1, at Jack Cook Field in Huntington.
Tré Hondras run through a double-play drill as the Marshall baseball team practices Thursday, Feb. 1, at Jack Cook Field in Huntington.
The Marshall University baseball team practices on Thursday, February 1, 2024, at Jack Cook Field in Huntington.
Pitcher Gabriel Cabrera warms up as the Marshall baseball team practices Thursday, Feb. 1, at Jack Cook Field in Huntington.
The Marshall University baseball team practices on Thursday, February 1, 2024, at Jack Cook Field in Huntington.
HUNTINGTON Ƶ For the past week, the Marshall baseball team has started to make its new stadium feel a little more like home.
On Jan. 26, the Thundering Herd walked from the Chris Cline indoor athletic facility, where it is still taking batting practice as construction continues on the new facilities, through the concourse of its new ballpark and down through the stands to get to the playing surface.
The time had come to break in the new digs.
ƵThe guys were like kids in a candy store,Ƶ Marshall coach Greg Beals said, recounting the HerdƵs first official practice in the facility. ƵThey are baseball players, so to see all this stuff and be able to actually start using it has been really good for them.Ƶ
Prior to that practice, they were distant observers of Jack Cook Field, which is still an active construction site. But enough has been completed that the Herd can work out inside the stadium that is scheduled to host its first game on March 1.
ƵUs getting the opportunity to practice out here, one, helps our development as a team, and helps us develop some sort of home-field advantage by knowing our turf and knowing our surroundings, all those things,Ƶ Beals said. ƵItƵs just been a real shot in the arm for our guys.Ƶ
The dugouts are still bare, and a video board is still yet to be installed and foul poles to be placed, among other things. But the field is usable.
ƵCoach didnƵt have to motivate a whole lot that first day we came out here to work out,Ƶ Beals said with a laugh.
A couple of days after the teamƵs first practice at ƵThe Jack,Ƶ Marshall fans got their own first look at the stadium and additional new training facilities and offices.
Fans also got to see the upgrades at Dot Hicks Field, the softball stadium, which received lights, a new video board and new seats in the area behind the plate.
ƵThe excitement is evident in the turnout we had for the hard-hat tour. We had 150, almost 200 people here,Ƶ Beals said. ƵYou could feel the excitement in the group when they came into the building about what we are now able to provide for our student-athletes.Ƶ
Marshall opens the regular season in less than two weeks with a four-game series at the College of Charleston in South Carolina on Feb. 16-19. The Herd will then face Indiana State and Michigan State twice each in Port Charlotte, Florida, before the highly anticipated home opener at Jack Cook Field on March 1.
ThatƵs just four weeks away, and while the final stages of construction play out, the Marshall baseball team will have a front-row seat to watching it all come together.
ƵItƵs exactly what we need for these guys to have some greater sense of belonging and taking ownership in it,Ƶ Beals said. ƵThe final touches are coming to make this a first-class ballpark that we know itƵs going to be.Ƶ
Luke Creasy is a reporter for The Herald-Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @LukeCreasy or reach him by phone at 304-526-2800.
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