August 12, 2009

Field preparations in full swing

Mansfield Stadium grounds crew members prepare the mound.

Preparations are in full swing here in Bangor. Last Thursday, the grounds crew worked diligently while sculpting the pitcher�s mound and replacing worn-out sod in the infield. The field has been recovering ever since the end of the Maine Junior League Baseball tournament two weeks ago. Each year, Mansfield Stadium sees almost 200 high school, Junior League, Senior League, and American Legion games.

After an extremely wet June and July, the weather has cleared up in recent days, providing plenty of sunshine. Bangor saw its wettest June on record this year when more than 8 inches of rain fell. The grounds crew will be applying tons of drying agent to the infield dirt. More drying agent will be on standby for the World Series. The weather forecast for this weekend into the beginning of next week is calling for mostly sunny skies with temperatures in the 80s.

The Philippines, Italy, and Aruba were the first teams to qualify for the series back in July. They will be joined by South Carolina and Northern California. The U.S. Central and U.S. Southwest champions will be crowned tonight. U.S. East and Canada will crown their champions tomorrow to complete the field of 10 teams, which includes Maine District 3 champion Bangor.