College News: Stephen F. Austin Softball Field Vandalized, Severely Damaged by “Idiot” in “10 Minutes”

Not exactly the start to the new year that the Stephen F. Austin softball coaches were expecting.

On Monday, the Ladyjacks’ coaches and athletic administrators returned from the Winter Break to discover extensive damage done to the softball field, by at least one person who apparently drove a truck onto the grass and did donuts leaving deep ruts and torn-up sod.

The news was first reported via a tweet from head baseball coach Jonny Cardenas who wrote, in part: “It takes weeks/months to get our baseball and softball looking fit for our kids. It takes an idiot 10min to trash that work.”

It takes weeks/months to get our baseball and softball looking fit for our kids. It takes an idiot 10min to trash that work. If anyone in Nac has any information please reach out to ⁦@SFA_Softball⁩ staff. This is not ok!!! pic.twitter.com/gUvfe5qwMo

— Johnny Cardenas (@CoachCSFA) January 6, 2020

KTRE9, the East Texas ABC affiliate that covers the school based in Nacogdoches, Texas, reported late Monday that Athletic Director Ryan Ivey was busy evaluating options to “determine what would need to be done to the field and then start an action play to get it done.”

The DI school was scheduled to hold a softball camp this weekend and then begin practice for the Southland Conference team which has its first home game scheduled February 19 against Prairie View A&M—six weeks from Wednesday.

Ivey told KTRE9 that several activities will be moved to the football field until the field can be restored to suitable playing conditions.

Officials are asking that any information on the vandalism be reported to the school or the Nacogdoches Police Department.