Field upgrades on the way for Vikings, Gatemen ahead of baseball season

Spillane Field, home of the Wareham High School Vikings and the Wareham Gatemen is getting an upgrade to modernize the field and promote fan safety.

The Wareham Gatemen are a part of the Cape Cod Baseball League, a summer baseball league where the nation’s top college baseball players come to Cape Cod to hone their skills when the college season is over.

The field, located off of Viking Drive, needed to be modernized since it has not been renovated in over a decade, according to Gatemen Board of Directors member Matt Merrick.

One of the major upgrades the field is getting is a brand new infield. Merrick said the current infield was made of a stone dust that is being replaced with a clay dirt mixture.

"A lot of the players grew up playing on clay and play on clay at school and for most of them the first time they see stone dust is at Spillane Field," Merrick said. "Clay has more consistent bounces, better sliding conditions and overall better running conditions."

In order to replace the stone dust, workers will dig down about three to four inches and replace the stone dust with the clay mixture.

Additionally, new safety netting is being put up around the field and the dugouts are being moved away from home plate to ensure fan safety.

"We're modernizing the field to match the majority of other baseball fields," Merrick said.

Merrick added that the renovations are being paid for by the Gatemen.

Currently there is no exact date for when the field will be done but Merrick said it will be done by the Gatemen season opener in early June and the start of the high school baseball season.

The Gatemen kick off their season June 14 against the Hyannis Harbor Hawks at home.

"We're excited for some excellent talent to come in from around the country and we're hoping for some exciting baseball," Merrick said. "Our expectations are always very high and we are looking forward to the guys reporting in early June."