From a City Park to Turf: Ashland Gets a Facelift

Many small schools around the nation struggle with adequate playing facilities, and until recently, that certainly rang true for the Ashland University softball team.

In a dedication ceremony held at the end of September, program supporters and alumni from near and far reunited to celebrate a new home for Ashland Softball – the brand-new Deb Miller Field at Archer Ballpark Complex.

“We have a lot of great memories from our days at Brookside Park,” Al King, Ashland’s athletic director, told Extra Inning Softball in a statement. “But for years, we’ve longed to bring the softball team to campus and give it a home it can call its own.”

Brookside Park is a community park located in Ashland, Ohio – the field where the team has been competing for over forty years. And while the program was appreciative for the opportunity to play at the city field, the arrangement didn’t come without its challenges.

“We struggled to have any consistency when it came to our schedule, especially in the spring,” said head coach Emlyn Knerem.  “We had to battle with travel teams, the high school team, high school tournaments, and slow pitch leagues for use of the field on any given day.”

Not only did the squad share the park with others, they also struggled with weather effects and field conditions on a surface with no drainage system.

“The field was not kept up very well, so it was extremely difficult to practice or play after it rained. Last season, we didn’t practice on dirt one time in the month of April,” Knerem added.

In contrast to the previous setup, the new stadium gives Knerem the ability to make definitive decisions regarding games. “It allows me to communicate more effectively with our opponents and hopefully we will have fewer changes to home games,” the sixth-year head coach said. “Which provides consistency for our players and their classes.” 

Speaking of the players.

“They are so proud of their new home and have been excited to practice and play there every day,” Knerem said.  “Saying that this is a dream come true for our past and present athletes is an understatement. Some of us weren’t sure we would ever have a field to call our own.”

Knerem is also a 2012 graduate of Ashland University; at the dedication ceremony, she was joined by over thirty alumni as well as the program’s two previous head coaches, Sheilah Gulas and Karen Linder, both of whom have had an astounding impact on the softball program since 1986.

“It is time we have a home to come back to, to celebrate and connect the dots of the generations of AU softball,” Gulas (head coach from 1997-2017) said. “We have all been a part of something bigger than ourselves…the tradition of excellence of this program and the awesome people that are a part of this family.”

Tradition of excellence is no exaggeration. Combining the tenures and success of Gulas and Linder, the two coaches sport a collective 976-565 record, a .578 winning percentage in a combined thirty years leading the program.

“The program has been historically one of the best D2 programs in Ohio without the advantage of having a field on campus,” said Linder, head coach from 1986-1996. “Even in the 70s, Ashland had a strong tradition for female athletics despite having to play and practice on community fields.”

Sue Welch can attest to that. As a 1978 graduate of Ashland, Welch chose to play basketball instead of softball during her college years because the program was still competing in slow-pitch. That didn’t stop her when it came to giving back; Welch’s gift to the new stadium project will see the new press box named after her parents.

“For me as a donor, the opportunity to help pave the way for future generations at Ashland is a thrill,” says Welch. “Giving the gift in memory of my parents and to be able to pay it forward for future Eagle softball players is a dream come true.”

While there are still some future additions still to come within the stadium project, Knerem has advice for other programs in similar situations.

“Continue having the conversation. Continue bringing up the issues and make your voice heard,” Knerem said. “Talk with the people who are invested in your program and use your resources. Sometimes it takes just one person to believe in your dream, [someone] who will be willing to help you create a new reality.”