Mansfield protected by new tarpaulin

As rain pelted down on Tuesday, the infield at Mansfield Stadium was protected.

That’s because there is a new tarpaulin and accompanying accessories.

Ron St. Pierre, treasurer of the Mansfield Complex Baseball Committee and field manager, said the tarp is 165 feet by 165 feet and there is also a machine that rolls the tarp up; a 30-foot long tube and vinyl protector.

Everything is here except the tarp-rolling machine and that is expected within a couple of weeks.

“It takes only four people to do it on a calm day,” said St. Pierre, who pointed out that the standard baseball tarpaulin is 160 by 160.

“This covers everything in the infield,” said St. Pierre.

He added that a shortage of manpower was one of the reasons they didn’t buy one earlier. The field also has an exceptional drainage system.

He said the price tag was approximately $10,000 for the tarp, the tarp-rolling machine, the tube and the vinyl protector and the money is still being accumulated through fund-raising projects.

The absence of a tarpaulin was magnified during last spring’s NAIA Northeast Regional Tournament.

Following a storm, the championship round was pushed back from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. before it was eventually postponed. The grounds crew worked on the field all day, but couldn’t make it playable.

Husson will be hosting the NAIA New England Championship Tournament beginning Thursday.

In August, Mansfield will be the site of the State American Legion Baseball Tournament.

Butch Arthers was selected as the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference’s Athletic Director of the Year by league ADs.

Arthurs coached the Lions to the 1996 Class B state football title and is president of the Maine Football Coaches Association.

The Maine Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame has selected 13 recipients for its 10th annual scholar-athlete awards.

The 11 Maine high school athletes honored were Jeff Guerette of Bangor, Jeremy Dill of Old Town, Joe Littlefield of Belfast, Michael Pare of Orono, Dustin Ireland from Mt. Blue in Farmington, Bruce Harrington from Lawrence of Fairfield, John Hutchins of Portland, Tim Lawson of South Portland, Jeff Justice from Cheverus of Portland, Lucas Piepkorn of Lewiston, and Kurt Ebrahim of Massabesic in Waterboro.

Also honored were Bowdoin College senior Mike Volpe and Bridgton Academy senior Charles McElligott.

Candidates for the honor must be football players who are also excellent students. All 13 will receive awards at at banquet at Bowdoin College May 21.