Golden State Lumber

A hard working crew spent two Saturdays virtually rebuilt the infield at Prince Park where our Junior Division plays it's home games. They moved over 30 yards of soil in just two days! PALL would like to acknowledge Pat Nelson for donating his time, tractor, and professional expertise. His generous support made it possible to get 3 days of hard work done in just 8 hours under the direction of Darrell Couey, our professional Grounds Crew Chief.  PALL parents Barry Jones, Jeff Painter, Henry Garcia, Edward Mooney, Bob Bunger, Patrick Hayworth, and Steve Scherzter joined forces with St. Vincent High School Varsity Baseball Coach Gary Gallaway, his coaching staff, and the St. V Varsity Baseball Team to provide the muscle behind these efforts.  St. Vincent 's shares the Prince Park field with us during the season. 

The crew added new base pads and home plate for an alternate 80 foot diamond and moved a dozen sprinkler heads.  They also removed the lip that had formed between the infield dirt and outfield grass which acted as a big dam after a rainstorm.  Now the infield will drain properly and the surface is much improved from an infielder's point of view. We are hoping this will give Prince Park a minimum of 4 years before any major work would have to be done again.

This work was prompted by some exciting developments in the Junior Division this season.  Junior teams play an interleague format, facing teams from all three Petaluma Little Leagues during regular season play. The three Leagues have addressed a widely held concern about the sudden transition 13 year old Junior players must make from the 60 foot Little League diamond to the 90 foot regulation diamond.  This year, the Junior Division will play roughly the first half of the 2007 season on an 80 foot diamond. The shorter distance allows player's arms to develop gradually so they will have more confidence and success on the bigger field while still preparing them for the 90 foot diamonds that All Star Tournaments are played on.  We hope this change will help our Juniors repeat as D35 South Area Champions this season! A related decision was made to allow 14 year olds to either play a second year in Juniors or "play up" to the Senior Division on the 90 foot diamond in preparation for high school baseball.  These changes have players "fired up"... PALL will field at least 5 Junior/Senior Division teams this season! 

Thanks again for an amazing overhaul of our Junior Division Home field!