STARKVILLE, Miss. --- Moravian College's Blue & Grey Softball Field has been named the 2011 NCAA Division III Field of the Year, earning the 2011 Stabilizer Solutions/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Field Maintenance Award.
Greyhounds Head Coach John Byrne, who will be entering his 19th season in March 2012, received the award at the 2011 NFCA Convention in Las Vegas on December 1st. During his tenure as coach and with Randy Haffling overseeing the grounds staff, Blue & Grey Field has gone through major changes since Byrne began coaching.
The field has gone from just a skinned infield that was also used as the practice football field, to a softball-only facility that has a seven-foot outfield fence, a 30-foot high backstop, dugouts, a full warning track and new bullpens added for 2012. The dirt on the field has also gone from a rough, sand lot type of material to a professional mix of infield including Hilltopper products in 2011 that allowed the field to remain playable for games and practices through one of the wettest springs in years.
Moravian's first home game at Blue & Grey Field in 2012 is scheduled as a doubleheader versus Drew University on Saturday, March 24 at 1:00 p.m. to open the Landmark Conference season.