Construction on the Lenda and Glenda Hill Stadium and Delp Baseball field is underway. Courtesy | Olivia Hajicek

The Lenda and Glenda Hill Stadium and Delp Baseball Field are on track to be finished in time for the first home game of the season on March 16. 

The project is scheduled to finish by Feb. 28, according to Athletic Director John Tharp. He said the stadium will seat roughly 300 people and have the look and feel of an old ballpark stadium with modern features like video scoreboard, lights, and synthetic turf. 

“I think it will be a fun place for people to watch,” Tharp said. “Especially when you get the lights up, it’s got a Field of Dreams kind of feel — right here in the middle of small-town America is this great stadium.”

Tharp said that besides helping with baseball recruiting, the new stadium will benefit the community. 

“It’s a place that we’re going to be able to use during the summertime for community support as well, so kids could be playing baseball in the stadium,” Tharp said. “It’s just a great chance to include a variety of different people across Hillsdale County to come in and use the park.”

The college broke ground on the stadium in October of 2022. 

“There won’t be a nicer D2 facility for small colleges like ours out there,” said head baseball coach Tom Vessella. “We’ll have lights. We’ll have field turf. We won’t have to worry about scheduling as much. We can get outside as much as we possibly can. I mean, it’s endless.” 

Senior Jaekob Sallee said he is most looking forward to having synthetic turf, which means Michigan weather will interfere less with their practices and games. 

“It’s going to be awesome. It’s definitely a huge reason I’m coming back for my fifth year,” Sallee said. “It’s gonna be huge for the program.”

Senior outfielder Joe Hardenbergh said he is excited to play their first game of the season in the new stadium.

“I mean, I’ve been here for a long time, and for my final year in college, just to be able to play in a stadium like that — it’s going to be incredible,” Hardenbergh said. “Just having our family and friends around too — it’s always a great time, great atmosphere at the field, so I’m really excited.”

Vessella said the new stadium will also include big league stadium seats, a concourse, a concession stand, and a video board for an actual game day experience. 

“It’s going to be as close as you would get to a professional experience as possible,” Vessella said. “It’s fantastic.”

Hardenbergh said he hopes to have more fans come out for their games in the new stadium. 

“We just love having people out to watch some games,” Hardenbergh said, “and it should be a great time, great field, and hopefully we can produce a product on the field that lives up to our stadium.”