Field 7.5 nearing completion, will make baseball more accessible

SALISBURY, Md. – Field 7.5 in is nearing completion after a year of fundraising. “The whole concept was to have a ball field that would be able to accommodate kids or adults with special needs – whether it be physical or mental disability. It’s giving them the opportunity to enjoy the great sport of baseball that that many of us enjoy,” said Director of Wicomico County Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Steve Miller.

The field is specially designed to allow athletes with physical and mental disabilities to play baseball. The turf, mound, and bases are a flat synthetic field – which reduces trip hazards. Also – the dugout is open and more freely accessible – and the field has features which offer more shade than a typical baseball diamond.

Miller says the county wanted to make the baseball diamond as accessible as possible for those who need it. “Part of the vision of this is, though it is a county facility – and we absolutely want the county and its residents to benefit – it’s a regional park and we have people from all over,” said Miller.

Miller tells 47ABC he hopes people from all over the Lower Eastern Shore can take advantage of it. “We would welcome people from Worcester, Somerset, Dorchester, or wherever. If there are kids or adults who don’t have those opportunities – we welcome them. So we’re looking at it as a regional project and we want people to have opportunity,” said Miller.

The field should be fully open by next spring – but it will have a series of soft open events throughout the fall. Miller tells 47ABC that it’s the only ball field of its kind on the Lower Eastern Shore that he knows of. “We just wanted it to be a space that people could really enjoy recreation and have those types of opportunities,” said Miller.

Miller says he hopes the soft opens will get the athletes excited to play ball.