Games resume at Jefferson Hills baseball field after vandals allegedly damage the property
Games resume at Jefferson Hills baseball field after vandals allegedly damage the property
Games resume at Jefferson Hills baseball field after vandals allegedly damage the property
Police in Jefferson Hills say the people responsible for desecrating the main field at 885 Park early Saturday morning have been identified.
Police say charges are pending against those accused of doing this. They did not say anything about who they are yet. KDKA-TV is working to learn more.
Despite the damage, our national pastime found a way to continue there this weekend.
Baseball is often the soundtrack of summer, but it appears someone tried to stop the beat.
"It's terrible. I can't believe somebody would do that," Colleen McCafferty of Jefferson Hills said.
The main field at 885 Park was in pristine shape for a tournament this weekend.
"Spent all evening Friday working on this field," Thomas Jefferson 8-U baseball coach Tim McElhone said.
But right before 3:30 Saturday morning, security snapshots shared by McElhone with KDKA-TV show some people, and an ATV, attempting to sully that work.
"There's deep divots throughout our outfield," McElhone said.
The people who did this did not just tear up the ground.
"The kids were all upset about it," McCafferty said.
They tried to tear through a community.
"The hard work of so many people was almost ruined by the acts of one or two," McElhone said.
"Almost," because the games at 885 Park went on this weekend.
"Everybody pulled together as a community, which is great to see," Kayla Hanley of Pleasant Hills said.
The coaches prepped the diamonds, and the parents cheered on their sons.
"It's just the kids. All they want to do is play baseball," Hanley said.
It has been quite the cycle of emotions for those kids and the coaches.
"Went from anger to sadness to joy!" McElhone said.
There are several takeaways from this, too, like a level of resolve McElhone got to see.
"A lot of pride in those young kids, and, you know, not letting adversity stop them from their goal and having fun," he said.
That is worth even more applause for these parents because just as much as the plays on the field, it's the young players learning that when you get knocked down, you find a way to "play on."
"They just went out there and played their little hearts out," McCafferty said.
"You love to see a positive story come out of something like this," Hanley said.
McElhone said the kids will probably have to deal with the outfield damage for the rest of the summer. It is expected to be fixed by the fall.
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