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Crutcher Scott Field wasn't the only field that got a face-lift in the off-season at ACU, the softball complex has a brand new look and Brianne Welch went up to the hill to talk to the Wildcats about the new field, and get an idea of what it's like to play on artificial turf.
The smell of freshly cut grass. the sight of a freshly chalked infield are things you won't see anymore at ACU softball games thanks to their brand new all turf complex.
"You know, it's been an exciting time," head coach Bobby Reeves said. "It's been a deal where I wasn't sure whether I wanted to put turf in or not because I'm kind of old fashioned, old school type of person, coach, but now that we've got it in it's been great."
Now my first thought was, man I bet turf would be really weird to play on, because as a former college softball player, I've never played on turf, so I figured it would be fun to go re-live my glory days as a ball player and practice with the team. Coach Reeves and the girls thankfully let me play with them, and what I found to be the most different is how fast the ball moves on the turf.
"The ball comes a little bit faster, and when you slide you slide a little bit faster, so those are things that will play to our advantage," junior outfielder Taylor Brown said.
"Coming from a pitching standpoint I was kind of nervous because I've never pitched on anything but dirt, so it was definitely something I was nervous about," red shirt sophomore pitcher Hannah Null said. "Is it going to be worse, is it going to be better, but now that I've actually had a couple weeks worth of practice on it, I love it."
The Wildcats have been practicing on the turf for a while now, but season starts on Friday and they'll be back to playing on dirt at some of the schools, but regardless of the field quality, the team is just ready to play someone other than themselves.
"It's been a long time coming I guess," Reeves said. "If you think about it, we started in August trying to prepare for this weekend, here we are, finally going to get to start, so the girls are excited."
So, there's definitely some differences between turf and dirt and grass, but coach reeves and the girls are excited about the home field advantage that they're going to have.
ACU opens the season in the Texas State Tournament Friday morning down in San Marcos.
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The smell of freshly cut grass. the sight of a freshly chalked infield are things you won't see anymore at ACU softball games thanks to their brand new all turf complex.
"You know, it's been an exciting time," head coach Bobby Reeves said. "It's been a deal where I wasn't sure whether I wanted to put turf in or not because I'm kind of old fashioned, old school type of person, coach, but now that we've got it in it's been great."
Now my first thought was, man I bet turf would be really weird to play on, because as a former college softball player, I've never played on turf, so I figured it would be fun to go re-live my glory days as a ball player and practice with the team. Coach Reeves and the girls thankfully let me play with them, and what I found to be the most different is how fast the ball moves on the turf.
"The ball comes a little bit faster, and when you slide you slide a little bit faster, so those are things that will play to our advantage," junior outfielder Taylor Brown said.
"Coming from a pitching standpoint I was kind of nervous because I've never pitched on anything but dirt, so it was definitely something I was nervous about," red shirt sophomore pitcher Hannah Null said. "Is it going to be worse, is it going to be better, but now that I've actually had a couple weeks worth of practice on it, I love it."
The Wildcats have been practicing on the turf for a while now, but season starts on Friday and they'll be back to playing on dirt at some of the schools, but regardless of the field quality, the team is just ready to play someone other than themselves.
"It's been a long time coming I guess," Reeves said. "If you think about it, we started in August trying to prepare for this weekend, here we are, finally going to get to start, so the girls are excited."
So, there's definitely some differences between turf and dirt and grass, but coach reeves and the girls are excited about the home field advantage that they're going to have.
ACU opens the season in the Texas State Tournament Friday morning down in San Marcos.
More...