CRANBURY: Babe Ruth fields sees first ball games

By Maria Prato, Staff Writer
   CRANBURY — It was “play ball” on Saturday at the township’s new Babe Ruth baseball field.
   Mayor David Stout threw out the first pitch for a game between two Princeton-Cranbury Babe Ruth League teams on the new field on the Wright South property near the Cranbury School.
   The first phase of the project included construction of field and its outfield fence and was funded through county grants of $400,000 and $75,000. A second phase, expected to be completed by the fall, will add bleachers, dugouts and a solar-paneled scoreboard.
   The township has received a $175,000 grant to finish the project, though costs are expected only to be about $80,000, according to Township Committeeman Win Cody.
   ”We’ll see how much it really costs,” Mr. Cody said. “After, we might want a storage shed or there’s a couple of other things we could look at like a batting cage. We just wanted to get this built and done, get the necessities out there and see what’s left.”
   In the meantime, temporary bleachers and benches are being used.
   The project was first approved in 2001, but arsenic contamination was found on the property, which used to house greenhouses. The township also ran into problems with a contractor and vandalism.
   But, thanks to the efforts of township officials and residents, the field is ready for use.
   ”The field is beautiful,” Mr. Cody said. “Jeff Graden (a resident and volunteer) did a great job managing the field.”