Deltaville Ballpark

Deltaville Ballpark

Deltaville Ballpark was originally built in 1948, and is owned by the Deltaville Community Association. Located at the end of Ballpark Road in Deltaville, Virginia, it hosts baseball games from several different teams and organizations.

Field & Stadium

The wooden grandstands provide covered seating for approximately 500 fans. They are protected from foul balls by a crab pot wire fence.^[1] A small press box sits in the top two rows behind home plate; it has telephone connections to each dugout, scoreboard controls, microphone, and a PA/Music system.

Each dugout sits at the end of the grandstands, and is recessed into the ground, protected with chain link. A bullpen for one pitcher/catcher is further down the line.

Beside the home team dugout (3rd base line) is an additional seating area with room for approximately 15-20 spectators. Views can be obstructed by the dugout at ground level.

The infield playing surface is skin, which drains remarkably well for a field of its type. Hundreds of holes are drilled beneath its surface, filled with rock, to facilitate drainage. The outfield is plain old fashioned grass of many types. Outfield wall dimensions are 305-375-295, with the metal wall being approximately 9 feet tall. Even with the high wall, the short distance down the lines leads a large number of home runs. The entire playing field is lighted by a number of lighted poles. One of the poles in right center field is home to an Osprey nest, whose occupants occasionally will leave remains of fish to be found by an unsuspecting outfielder.

There is one male and one female bathroom in a bathhouse located behind the home dugout. This building also serves as equipment storage. A small concession stand sits behind the press box, and is open for many of the games throughout the year, selling hot dogs, hamburgers, popcorn, soft drinks, chips, and other ballpark fare.

Panoramic shot of Deltaville Ballpark from left field

Stadium Users

A number of teams use the ballpark as their home field, and the ballpark sees regular use from late February through early November.

Middlesex High School Chargers

The local public high school, Middlesex High School, uses the ballpark as its home game & practice field for the varsity baseball team. Though located 20 minutes east of the actual high school, it has been used in this capacity for a number of years. Practices start Monday through Friday in late February, and games begin in early March, running through mid-May or later. The high school hosts the Rappahannock General Hospital Invitational Tournament each spring, a warmup tournament of sorts for Middlesex and three invited opponents. The ballpark also hosts the Tidewater District tournament, and has played host to Middlesex home games of the Region A tournament, and in 2002, State Group A Quarterfinals. Admission to regular season games is $5, 12 & under free. Playoff games are more.

In 2008, a wooden bat fall league was started, with area counties forming JV & Varsity squads based upon their high school teams. The teams are managed by local coaches, but not the high school coaches, as this would clearly constitute off-season coaching, which is prohibited. Teams play 5-inning doubleheaders, to which the admission is free. This season runs between September and early November.

Deltaville Deltas

The Deltaville Deltas baseball team is a semi-pro, 18+ wooden bat baseball team that can trace its roots back to before the ballpark was built.^[2] The ballpark has been home to the Deltas since its construction. The season typically begins around the second week of May, and continues through early August. Players are mostly college-aged players from the local area, with a number of former college & professional players also among the roster. Many players come from teams at Rappahannock Community College, Lynchburg College, Randolph-Macon College, Norfolk State University, The Apprentice School, Old Dominion University, and several others. Former Minnesota Twins pitcher Keith Atherton, a native of nearby Mathews County, pitched several post-MLB years for the Deltas, and Dave Cunningham, formally a minor league ballplayer in the Houston Astros organization, played for several seasons. The Deltas played most of the recent past in the Virginia Baseball League, winning championships in 1993 & 2004, but switched in the 2007 season to the Southern Virginia Baseball League.^[3]

Admission to Deltas games is $6, with 12 & under free.

Middle Peninsula Mariners

The Middle Peninsula Mariners team was formed in the 1990s as a second team to call Deltaville home. Like the Deltas, the team is semi-pro in nature, playing with wood bats & a schedule which runs from May through early August. Players are mostly college-aged or former college players, with many on the roster coming from area Division III college baseball teams. The Mariners played in the Virginia Baseball League until 2009, and won the 2008 & 2009 league titles.^[4]

The Mariners are not active as of the 2011 season. They last played an abbreviated schedule as an independent team in 2010.

Middlesex Little League

Before the construction of the Middlesex Sports Complex, Deltaville Ballpark was one of the primary sites for playing baseball for Middlesex County youth. Since the construction of the complex, all 12-and-under games are played on the smaller 60-foot diamonds at the complex, as well as most of the 13-18 year old games on the complex's 90' diamonds. However, on certain occasions, sometimes due to scheduling conflicts or just for the heck of it, games for the older group will be played at the ballpark, often with all the music, announcers, and other light fanfare that goes along with a typical Chargers, Deltas, or Mariners game.

As with all Little League games, admission is free.

Deltas vs. Mariners

Twice each year, the "cross-town" Deltas & Mariners played each other at the ballpark. Sometimes dubbed "The Battle for the Ballpark", this event always drew large crowds, and generally, a good baseball game. Area players were in both lineups, and many fans of both teams know a number of players from either side. The teams each played one home game, the opponent having to be "visitor" at their own field once a year. The last game was in 2010.

Other Uses

The ballpark has been used for several other events in the past. These include recreational softball, pickup baseball games, charitable events (memorable charity events include a womanless wedding show, a church-sponsored outdoor concert, and a donkey baseball game), as well as other events suited to the ballpark.

Heritage Day

Fireworks at the Ballpark on Heritage Day

Each year, on or about the 4th of July, a Saturday event known as Heritage Day occurs in Deltaville. The day is filled with arts & crafts, crab races, and even a parade, and is capped off each year by a Deltas game at the ballpark. Traditionally the opponent has been longtime rival Tappahannock Tides, however with a new league, the opponent has been an in-league foe (The 2007 opponent was Navy Baseball; in 2008, the York Cannons). The game time is moved up from the traditional 7:30pm start time to 5:00pm, and is followed by a short "Old-Timers Game", in which former Deltaville players of all ages relive their playing days for a couple of innings. This is all followed at approximately 8:45pm, with a large fireworks display to celebrate Independence Day.^[5] The grandstands are typically filled to capacity for this game, and fans will venture into the infield once the lights go out to watch the fireworks unobstructed. More than a thousand more will bring blankets & lawn chairs to enjoy the fireworks from the large field beside the ballpark.

References

1. ^ Daily Press. In Deltaville, Baseball and Boating Rule the Day - "In Deltaville, Baseball and Boating Rule the Day"
2. ^ Deltaville Deltas "deltavilledeltas.com"
3. ^ Southern Virginia Baseball League "svabl.com"
4. ^ Middle Peninsula Mariners "Mariners Web Site"
5. ^ Deltaville Community Association. "DeltavilleVA.com"

External links

• Deltaville Deltas
• Middle Peninsula Mariners
• Middlesex County Little League

Coordinates: 37°33′22″N 76°20′36″W / 37.55611°N 76.34333°W / 37.55611; -76.34333