Field of Dreams

MARION, Va. – Madison Bysterk stepped into the batter’s box and raised the bat above her right shoulder. She waited out two foul tips, before sending a shot down the third-base line.

The Marlins’ third baseman fielded it cleanly, but was too late to catch the runner sprinting from third toward home. Everybody was safe.

It was yet another run for the Orioles, not that it really mattered. The main order of every Marion Little League T-ball game is fun. No score is kept. No outs are made. No strikeouts recorded. League officials attempt to foster an environment in which losers don’t exist.

And they’ve succeeded in all areas except one: the field.

The Marion Little League T-ball field’s turf is spotty at best. Where grass does exist, it languishes in knee high patches. Stones the size and shape of footballs dot the outfield and foul areas. Cinder blocks sit gray and lonely in right field. The outfield is a collection of rolling swales and jagged rocks.

“It needs some attention, but it’s really in good shape compared to how it was at the beginning of the season,” said Jonathan Jonas, father of the Orioles’ Grace Jonas. “There was a hole out there at third base, we had dandelions growing out in the infield, so a lot of dads have given it some loving attention.

“But it still has a long way to go.”

Marion Little League officials are hoping for some help during that final stretch.

Jill Robinson, mother of two softballers and a member of the Marion Little League board of directors, recently nominated Marion’s T-ball field for the Frosted Flakes’ Plant-a-Seed program. According to the Frosted Flakes’ Web site, the program seeks to help rebuild athletic fields in communities that are currently facing economic difficulties.

Based on 10 qualifying categories, 100 finalists were chosen for the contest. Marion Little League was among them.

Though Marion has one well-equipped, finely manicured field – complete with a scoreboard, outfield fencing and public address system – 12 teams battle for use of it. The T-ball field’s outfield is in such bad shape, neither softball nor baseball can be played there.

Officials have tried to revamp the field themselves. Earlier in the season Jonas watched as one father made endless loops around the infield on a tractor, attempting correct the venue’s lopsided angles.

Just last year, Marion finally had enough money to fence off the outfield, which runs smack into a slight dirt outcropping. But then the rains came and suddenly the infield became a marshy bog. The fence money had to be redirected into relieving the drainage problem. Now, says Marion Little League information officer Jeff Bright, they only have “6 to 8 inches of water that stands on it after a big rain.”

Chances of another self-generated remodeling are slim. The league receives zero dollars from the city’s government – any renovations must be paid for entirely by donations. Extra money, however, is difficult to come by in Smyth County, where 17.1 percent of the population lives below the U.S. poverty line.

The $25,000 to $30,000 per year it takes to run the Marion Little League comes primarily from revenue collected at the concession stand. But with only one playable field, Marion must send a number of profitable tournament games to nearby Chilhowie.

Should Marion be one of the final 30 grand-prize winners, it will receive $15,000 toward the refurbishment of the T-ball field. With the extra money, league officials plan to transform it into a softball venue, a move they hope will ease scheduling headaches while creating interest in the sport.

“It would do a lot,” Bright said. “We hope to stimulate growth through our program with participation. The way to do that is to give the girls something they can be proud of. ... Instead of them showing up and playing on a field like [the T-ball field], they’ll be showing up and playing on something like the big field over here. There’s just a big difference when you see them play there and here.”

The grand-prize winners will be decided by an on-line vote at frostedflakes.com. Voting will count toward one-half of the competitor’s final score. The other half of the score will be dependent upon the sponsor’s panel of judges. Polls close on May 31.

As of Friday, Marion Little League controlled 8,518 votes. Hiram Johnson Football Field in Sacramento, Calif., the contest leader, had 28,091, according to Frosted Flakes’ Web site.

With no help from the city in sight, says Bright, a monumental comeback in the Plant-a-Seed contest might be Marion’s only hope for reviving its little league.

“There’s a lot of people putting time and love into it,” Jonas said. “But some money would help, too.”

To vote for Marion Little League visit www.frostedflakes.com/FieldProfile.aspx?FieldId=75667

scampbell@bristolnews.com|(276) 645-2543