New collegiate baseball field honors legendary player from Grove City College
When deciding on what to name the newly-revitalized baseball field, Grove City College administrators decided to honor one of the donors who made history bringing the sport back to campus.
Grove City College Wolverines baseball team are currently playing on the same field broken in by alumnus William “Bill” Stewart back in 1959.
Now they’re getting a brand new $3 million baseball field, thanks to project donors like Stewart and the college’s anniversary campaign.
New field to be named for GCC baseball pioneer Stewart
William C. Stewart Baseball Field will be located on College property along Pinchalong Road east of GCC campus.
Matt Royer is GCC’s head baseball coach; he’s been in charge of the program since 2016.
He said since it was laid out 60 years ago, the field has persistent drainage issues, uneven terrain in the outfield and lacks standard modern features, like turf and lighting.
These issues impact the way Royer’s team is able to practice, play, recruit potential players and attract non-conference competitors.
“There are so many advantages to a new field. It’s an advantage to play at home. It will definitely help recruiting … and will really help out in practice,” Royer said.
The new field will have more space to accommodate lights, parking and additional seating for spectators, as well as improved turf for infield and outfield.
“Now we have guys fielding ground balls on the soccer field. We’ll be able to use our whole field,” Royer said.
In addition to Grove City College baseball, the field will be open to community groups, area schools, churches, and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) for post-season games in western Pennsylvania.
The new ball field is part of Impact 150: The Anniversary Campaign for Grove City College, according to president Paul McNulty.
“This new field is a major milestone in Wolverine athletics. Bill’s friendship and support is an enormous blessing for our student athletes. It will result in even greater success for the College’s baseball program,” he said.
They’re raising $185 million to increase scholarship funding and make needed campus improvements, including athletic facility upgrades that will benefit student-athletes.
Baseball is the college’s oldest sport, dating back to 1884 when the Wolverines won in a 4-3 victory over Westminster during their first intercollegiate contest.
But in the 1920s, the program faded away.
In 1959, Stewart started at GCC and his sophomore year was when the college brought baseball back.
Steward was a three-year starter at first base and one of the program’s first three-year lettermen.
After graduating with an engineering degree, Stewart went to work for PPG and later in an executive role for Armstrong Group, a family-owned diverse, Butler, Pa.-based corporation that provides cable telecommunications, security, real estate, and other services.
