Augusta baseball coach and principal Robin Kelsch didn’t mention the 8-5 loss at Bellevue on April 26, 2021.
What Kelsch recalled Wednesday, however, was the email detailing a strange set of instructions at Bellevue Vets Field: no sunflower seeds or metal cleats allowed.
The Cincinnati Reds Community Fund and St. Elizabeth Healthcare are helping Augusta renovate Allen Field on East Second Street – a $200,000 donation toward the estimated $500,000 cost.
When the Panthers arrived on Fairfield Avenue more than two years ago, they saw a synthetic turf field a shade of green more vibrant than an Irish hillside in the spring.
“Bellevue’s a lot like Augusta,” Kelsch said. “… We played on that field, and I immediately thought of how much behind the 8-ball we were because of rainouts, because of getting started late with practices just because of the shape of our field.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 season, in 2019 Augusta played just 12 baseball games. (10th Region runner-up Campbell County played 38.)
“Augusta was used to playing somewhere between 10 and 12 baseball and softball games a season,” Kelsch said. “There was years where we were struggling to even qualify for district, ‘cause there was a minimum of 10 games, because of field conditions, because of different things.”
The Reds and St. Elizabeth Healthcare have helped fund four Northern Kentucky projects: Bellevue Vets Field, Francisco Cordero Field at Pioneer Park in Covington, Meinken Field in Covington, and Lemker Field at St. Elizabeth Ball Park in Ludlow.
Augusta’s plan is ambitious: raise the remaining $300,000 and finish the work in time for Opening Day 2024. The planned improvements list is long: replacing the all-dirt infield with turf (the grass outfield will remain); building new dugouts, bullpens, a concessions building and a batting cage; and replacing a decades-old scoreboard and rubber backstop.
Craig Miller, Bracken County Fiscal Court Augusta West District 2 Magistrate, wrote in a June 13 letter that the goal is to raise enough money by July 31 to begin construction this fall.
“We are in the initial phases of fundraising, applying for grants, and seeking financial support and commitments available from local citizens, businesses, corporations, foundations and other outside entities,” Miller wrote. “Augusta will oversee the $300,000 fundraising campaign … All donations are tax-deductible through the Augusta Independent Educational Foundation, Inc.”
Augusta athletic director Jason Hinson first called former Ludlow athletic director and longtime boys basketball coach Dan Sullivan. His next call was to Reds Community Fund Executive Director Charlie Frank.
“I figure I wouldn’t hear back, but I thought, ‘What the heck?’,” Hinson said. “Within a few days I heard from Charlie Frank. They liked the community.”
Miller said the City of Augusta contributed $18,000 to regrade and level the infield in time for the 2022 season. Asbury Sports Turf of Dover did the work.
“We think that there probably have only been two to three rainouts in the last two seasons, varsity seasons,” Miller said.
Augusta Superintendent Lisa McCane said it’s about time for an upgrade; she said baseball and softball have historically been the two weakest athletic programs because they’ve lacked adequate facilities.
“Our kids, they are as deserving as any kids to have updated facilities and resources, and certainly we want our programs to grow and to strengthen,” McCane said. “At this point, you can only do so much with what you have.”