Baseball team to open Petersen Sports Complex

A long-awaited day will arrive for the Pitt baseball team this weekend, when it will be the… A long-awaited day will arrive for the Pitt baseball team this weekend, when it will be the first team to play a home game at the new Petersen Sports Complex behind Trees Hall.

The baseball team will be a part of the grand opening as it plays against Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, while  the softball and men’s and women’s soccer teams will open their fields later in the year.

The baseball home opener, which was scheduled to take place on Friday at 1 p.m., has been moved to Saturday due to expected inclement weather. The Panthers will take on IPFW in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

Pitt head baseball coach Joe Jordano said he’s excited about the addition to campus.

“The new complex is great,” Jordano said. “We had a chance to get out a few times last week and it played well. We look forward to playing this weekend.”

For the baseball team, the new complex not only offers a state-of-the-art home, but has proved to be a valuable recruiting tool as well.

“It had helped us already while it was being built,” Jordano said. “We signed arguably the most highly regarded class in recent history. I don’t believe without the new facility we could have accomplished that.”

The recruiting success can only improve as potential players watch the Panthers compete in the new complex.

“The new facility was way overdue and was needed for many years,” Jordano said. “I am very pleased I am here to be a part of it. I believe the guys feel very much at home at the Petersen Sports Complex. I am confident we will settle in quickly.”

The Panthers’ former field was Trees Field, which was widely viewed as the worst facility in the Big East. Pitt’s new field puts the Panthers near the top of the league for facilities.

The baseball field is all synthetic, including the infield. This will allow the Panthers to play and practice year-round and spend much less time practicing inside the Cost Sports Center.

Softball will have the same outfield as the baseball field, but the softball players will have a skinned infield, composed of the traditional dirt. The softball team can afford to have a dirt infield because its first home game isn’t scheduled until March 29 against Penn State.

The softball team played several seasons off campus in Frick Park before moving to an on-campus field attached to the baseball diamond at Trees.

The soccer pitch is also synthetic, but it has been equipped with a different form of artificial grass.

It will be installed with FieldTurf brand’s Duraspine system. Duraspine is a type of turf used by Gillette Stadium and Qwest Field — both NFL stadiums that house Major League Soccer teams.

Duraspine meets FIFA requirements and allows for the most natural performance. It has also proven to be extremely durable in tests, which will prove valuable due to Pittsburgh’s weather and the amount of use the field will receive.

Pitt soccer player Ryan Brode said the complex is a huge upgrade for the program.

“We’re headed in the right direction,” he said.

Most importantly, the soccer teams will now play in Oakland for the first time since the demolition of Pitt Stadium. The soccer teams have been playing at Founders Field, 20 minutes north of the city in Cheswick. The new, convenient location should make it easier for Pitt students to attend games.

“We’re looking forward to having a lot of student support there,” Brode said. “Our first spring game is March 20 and we’re excited to play.”

Evening games will also be possible for the teams, as individual lighting will be installed on each of the fields. Each field features a press box and both the baseball and softball fields contain dugouts.

John M. and Gertrude E. Petersen, who offered a large gift to the University last fall, made the new complex possible. Their gift allowed Pitt officials to sign off on the final construction phase.

“The University of Pittsburgh is a world-class institution led by a great chancellor in Mark Nordenberg and his outstanding leadership team that has brought Pitt to the pinnacle of excellence in so many different areas,” John Petersen said in a Pitt news release following last year’s announcement of the donation.

“It is a great pleasure for Gertrude and me to again contribute to the University’s success and future.”