Backstop ready, dugouts almost set
By: Rudy Brandl
Manville High skipper Steve Venuto continues to upgrade his baseball program year after year, making little improvements every season.
Venuto has added a scoreboard, an indoor batting cage and new uniforms during his 10-year tenure as head coach. This spring, the Mustangs will play their home games in something that resembles a real stadium.
It’s not just your ordinary diamond filled with dirt with an old backstop and fenced in bench area like in the old days. This home field will be among the most impressive in the area, with a brand-new backstop and beautiful spacious dugouts.
"It’s a nice thing for the kids, the town and the community," Venuto said. "A lot of people will get to use it, not just us."
The project originated from the Somerville American Legion summer program, which fields a team that combines players from Manville and Somerville high schools. Manville resident Gregg Snyder is the head coach of the summer team and he accepted a $5,000 donation from the Somerville Legion, which plays its home games at MHS.
Snyder never dreamed the donation would be so generous. The money was originally intended for a new backstop. Once the Manville Board of Education allocated funds for the backstop, the money was put toward the construction of new dugouts. Snyder has recruited volunteers to assist in the development of Manville’s new field of dreams.
"I think it’s great," Snyder said. "When other towns come in to play, they’ll look up to it and want to play here. Just the backstop alone makes a big difference."
The Mustangs will play their first home game in the improved MHS facility this afternoon against Jonathan Dayton Regional of Springfield.
"We’re very excited," junior pitcher/third baseman Robert Snyder said. "When we found out the dugouts were getting done, we couldn’t wait to get out there. It’s a whole new look. Everyone’s really looking forward to it."
The home field renovations are just a continuation of Venuto’s dream for building a successful high school program.
"When I took over for Pat (LaMastro), I had a vision for the program," Venuto said. "We’ve played at Yogi Berra Stadium, we raised money for an indoor batting cage and now we have this. The kids have some great opportunities."
Venuto plans to recruit some friends to assist in the landscaping detail around the field. There are signs on the outfield fence revealing the dimensions 330 feet in left field and 385 in center, with right field still an open field. Venuto also reported that the scoreboard lights were fixed in the off-season.
All these upgrades are nice, but the players and coaches agreed that cosmetics aren’t enough to win ballgames. You still have to pitch, hit and play defense. The Mustangs are prepared to deliver.
"With new dugouts and a backstop, you want to be able to go out there and prove you can win these games," Snyder said. "You don’t want to get all this stuff and not win."
"Everything looks good, so you don’t want to go out and stink up the field," Venuto added. "It’s nice for the program and it’s great for pride, but I still want to see that ‘W’ in the left hand column."