“It’s about time.” Those were the words in the mind of RM baseball coach Codey Fear when news broke of the creation of a new baseball field. After years of long drives to Montgomery College (MC) for practice and the constant hassle of misusing the term “home games,” the baseball teams will be ready to gain from this new addition to their team and hope to add on to their past successes.

And yes, it is about time.

For at least the past five years, RM’s baseball teams have suffered the inconvenience of never playing on their own field, one that had many of its own blemishes. After the rebuilding of the school in 2006, it was found that the field was built upon what was originally planned to be a parking lot.

This key flaw led to drainage problems and inevitably, the baseball field was shut down after only a season’s worth of use. The renovations were completed just this past year.

“Instead of a quick fix, there was a big saga over the renovations — with all kinds of unfortunate delays in getting the field fixed. It should have been repaired and ready following that first season, but it wasn’t able to be completed until this past year,” said Rob Perks, vice president of the RM Athletic Booster Club, and an avid supporter of the baseball team.

Some players like junior Garrett Santiago were confused at first about exactly how long the repairs would take. “It was supposed to be done by the end of my freshman year so it’s an issue that was brought up before I got here,” he said.

The baseball team compensated for this turmoil through carpools to and from MC. For both JV and varsity, the commute from RM to MC has been rough, but nothing that would cause their ends to split or cause great concern.

For sophomore player, Max Webster, “It was difficult but manageable to travel from RM to MC every time we had practice or a game.” To expand upon this, teammate and sophomore Ethan Cohen, recalled that “It was a waste of time that could be used practicing, and a bit of an organizational problem, but for us it wasn’t a hassle. It was more of a problem for the parents. They drove us and took time out of their day, for which we are very grateful.”

The players are overjoyed that the field has finally been repaired. They hope that the struggles that their team experienced will be cast away by the newfangled, state-of-the-art field in RM’s very own backyard.

When asked about how the newly repaired field would affect the team, Cohen explained, “A baseball field is a baseball field, doesn’t matter if it’s MC’s or ours, but the convenience lets us play more, practice more, in general put more effort into making the team better, so I would say performance will go up. But performance should always go up. It’d be a problem if it went down.”

Coach Fear looks upon the repaired field with new found confidence for a boost in team performance this upcoming season.

“I think the new field will be great because we won’t have to waste time traveling over to MC. We also have access to more equipment, so practices can be more efficient and productive. That, plus being able to relax and actually have a field you can call home, will definitely boost team morale and should positively affect the performance on the field,” he continued.

Cohen is adamant in his belief that performance should always go up, no matter the external situation. The team’s diligent efforts alone should be the reason for their success, not the reintroduction of an RM field. The field has yet to live up to the speculations and expectations by resulting in a more successful season.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Rob Perks has been working with the RM SGA to organize an Opening Day celebration for the varsity baseball team’s first real home game in over four years.

To help kick off the season in a great way, Perks wants everyone to come out and support the team, especially on March 21: Opening Day. He emphasized that he wants there to be palpable fan support at their first RM home game, an experience that none of the returning members have ever had.

The team will compete against Blake High School for the Opening Day celebration. A number of entertainments along with food and refreshments have been scheduled for this exciting, momentous day.

The RM Athletic Booster Club will be hosting a pre-game tailgate immediately following the end of the school day. Fans will have multiple chances to receive free food, accessories, and swag. Hot dogs and hamburgers will be given out free to the first 50 students who enter the bleachers.

In addition, those 50 students will also receive a voucher for free buffalo wing and a raffle ticket. Prizes such as Subway giftcards, Buffalo Wild Wings merchandise, and Booster Club items will all be raffled off to fans.

After the game, fans can also make their way to the Buffalo Wild Wings in Rockville Town Center to buy discounted wings. The RM Athletic Club receives 15% of all of the money made.

On top of this, the radio station Hot 99.5 will be broadcasting directly from Gordy Coleman Field.
The RM baseball team is also planning to have several mascots grace the field, including Richie Rocket, JW Jaguar, the Buffalo Wild Wings buffalo, and the Frederick Keys Keyote. “We’re also hoping to stage a mascot race before the game,” Perks concluded.

The future has always been bright for the team with an influx of young talent, but again the question is brought up, what will this field bring to the table? The answer to that question will only be found through watching, listening, and cheering on through the home games this season.

“Our goal is to win. We are a young team and I think we have some bright days ahead of us,” Coach Fear said. The varsity baseball roster includes six underclassmen, five sophomore sand one freshman.
This chance to play against varsity competition will offer an opportunity for sophomore pitchers Drew Sturgess, Brooks Perks, Max Webster, and Alex Caprara to tap into their full potential.

“As far as this season, we are going to give 100 percent, play clean, fundamental baseball, and see where that leaves us at the end of the year,” Coach Fear concluded.

While the addition of the field is exciting news, all eyes should remain focused on the team and all of their hard work, as that is the deciding factor in the upcoming season.