Area baseball teams oozing talent
Daily Local News - April 8, 2002 by Peter Digiovanni

Chester County could rule district

Baseball is back and area fans can look forwad to another premier season.

The level of talent is deep and rich and with many Division 1 and 2 college prospects toiling at area high schools, taking in a baseball game should be an enjoyable way to spend a spring afternoon.

The league race should be hotly contested and come district playoff time Chester County should once again lord over southeastern Pennsylvania.

Here is a look at baseball in 2003.

Ches-Mont Leage

Coatesville (9-12 last season)should be a very explosive team at the plate. With strong hitting catcher Joel Guiseppe, Ron McNiel, and Mark Yearsley leading the way, Coatesville will score runs. The Red Raiders will, however, have to find the pitching to be in the Ches-Mont hunt.

Downingtown (17-10) is a very young team but first-year coach Russ Wren should have the Whippets organized and ready to go. With a good middle infielder in Matt Helm, third baseman Clayton Sharpless and flame-throwing right-hander Bill Konecny, the Whippets will win their share of games.

West Chester East (18-5) is one of the favorites to win not only the Ches-Mont but also the Class AAA District 1 crown. The Vikings' power is in their arms, specifically Billy Muldowney and Chris McCafferty, two Division 1 college-bound pitchers. Eric Chamness and Doug Reitz head an offense that can score runs.

West Chester Henderson (18-9) went to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association class AAA playoffs last season. Mike McCardell is a two-way threat at pitcher and at third base. Dave Owen backs up McCardell, and infielders Rob Bredin and Steve Orendorf help with the offense.

Southern Chester County League

Avon Grove should contend for the SCCL crown behind hard-throwing right-handers Kevin McCoy and Jared Stanley. Senior Mike Mount, Mike Smith and Sam Heaps should head the Red Devils' offense.

Bishop Shanahan (10-10) under coach George Hadfield, is always near the top of the league. The Eagles do not beat themselves and Kevin Walsh and Brian Powell are two reasons Shanahan should be near the top of the league again.

Delco Christian joins the SCCL and is a young team with a good pitcher in Tom Carver and an infield led by John Ashworth.

Devon Prep (8-14) will try to go with a deep staff. Coach Frank casey will rely on senior pitcher Marty Leslie, who has a good breaking ball. Sophomore Ben McDowell and Marc Guthrie are two other right-handers for the Tide. Shortstop John McNichol is a very good fielder and will anchor a young infield. C.J. Frederick is the main offensive weapon for the Tide.

Garnet Valley will depend heavily on staff ace Eric Corkery, who is headed to Hofstra University. The big senior has a very crisp fastball and will lead a team that features eight seniors including Ryan Fitzpatrick and Chip Struble.

Great Valley (13-6) comes over from the Pioneer Athletic Conference with a lot of talent. Sean Bond will pitch and play third base and the slick fielding Ryan Hutchinson will be back at short. Long-ball-hitting outfielder Bill Swaan and catcher Dustin Whiteman can knock in runs for the Patriots, who look to be very tough to handle in the SCCL.

Kennett(11-12) is coming off a year in which the Blue demons went to the second playoffs. Six starters return for the Blue Demons including center fielder Alex Bove. Alex Myers will be counted on at first base and on the mound.

Octorara (10-11) is always very competitive and this year will not be any different for the Braves. Senir Justin DiNorsica is a good hitting outfielder who will lead the attack along with Shane Warton and Brian Serbin.

Oxford (2-21) begins its second year under coach Mickey Hess, and the Hornets are looking to improve over last season. Oxford hopes to generate more offense this season, and Dan McGarvey, Dan Pugh are Mitch Lewis are three reasons for optimism.

Unionville under coach George DeDonato, is always one of the toughest teams in the SCCL. The Indians will be led by big-hitting Dave Hissey, who along with Mark Ely, Ryan Hillary, Ray Sweeney and Jake Esterly will share the mound duties.

Central League

Conestoga (21-5) is coming off a Class AAA District 1 championship, and first-year coach John Vogan has some of the parts of the championship puzzle back in place. The Pioneers have a potent top of the lineup with Matt Rogers, Mike Raible, and Jim Nacios. Senior John D'Agostini and Mike Parry will lead the Pioneer pitching staff.

Inter-Academic League

Malvern Prep (22-9) will be fighting for the top spot in the Inter-Ac League. Pitchers Paul Keldsen and Will Romanowicz can throw heat. The pair may form the best pitching duo in southeastern Pennsylvania for coach Mike Hickey. The Friars also have guys who can hit the ball, especially Brian Booth, Joe Illegas, and Dan Plunkett.

Pioneer Athletic Conference

Owen J. Roberts should be in the thick of the PAC-10 race. Coach Greg Gilbert has six returning starters and a deep pitching staff with starts Aaron Weitzenkorn and Ryan Vermeesh capable of beating anyone.

Phoenixville (16-4) is coming off a PAC-10 championship, but this is a very young, inexperienced team. First baseman/pitcher Mike Davis is a good run producer, and outfielder Howie Komar is another returning starter. Junior pitcher Mike Wagner will have to give coach Jack Sturgeon some innings.

Spring-Ford (16-6) will be right at the top of the conference race and the biggest reason is pitcher Craig Clark. The Penn State University signee has a nasty breaking ball and a great pick-off move. Ryan Kraft and Tom Murphy lead an offense that is expected to score rungs.

Keystone Athletic Conference

Church Farm (7-10) is hoping to make the conference playoffs for the first time in school history. Steve McGovern is a hard-nosed catcher who can hit the ball, and seniors Daryl Paynter and Charles Branch can both get on base. The toughest opponent will be perennial power Shipley.

Friends League

Westtown (5-11) is a very inexperienced group but coach Bob Corbett can count on Andrew Renzi to handle some of the Quaker pitching chores. Renzi can also play a capable infield and hit the ball. Justin Genzaro returns at catcher for pitching and defense. The toughest competition will come from Friends Central.

Atlantic Coast Christian Athletic Conference

West Chester Christian (13-1) expects to have another winning season because of a lot of returning starters. Dan Alessi is one of the pitchers along with Jon Janik, who coach Mike Ollis is counting in. Matt Seace is a good contact hitter, and Dan McEnneaney starts the attach from the lead off position.

Berks League

Twin Valley (7-12) should be right inthe thick of the league race. Coach Larry Bare has a pair of sluggers in Jeremy Stoltzfus and Joe DeFrank to lead the Raiders attach.

Raider Baseball Team Starts Season at 2-3
Coatesville Ledger - April 10-16, 2002 by Bryan G. Robinson

The Coatesville Area Senior High School baseball team has started its season with mixed results. As of Monday, it had a 2-3 overall record.

In its first game, the Raiders defeated Archbishop Caroll 7-3, then lost two in a row, first 8-0 to Spring-Ford, then 5-4 to Malvern Prep.

The Raiders then got their second win of the season with a 3-2 win over Solanco before losing 7-5 to Conestoga two weekends ago.

Last week the Raiders' scheduled games against Upper Merion and Hempfield both were postponed due to rain. The game against Upper Merion has been rescheduled for Friday, April 11, at 3:45 p.m. at Upper Merion.

Coatesville head coach Hal Ziegler said the postponed games certainly don't help his team, which faces two Ches-Mont League games this week.

Scheduled for Tuesday was Downingtown and tonight West Chester East underneath the lights at Caln Park.

Ziegler said that despite the rain the Raiders' fields at the high school and at Caln Park are in pretty good shape and the team has been able to practice outside.

Last year, the Raiders finished 9-10 overall and 1-8 in the league. "We're looking to improve this year," he said. Another goal, obviously, is to break .500 and, of course, as always, the goal is to win the Ches-Mont.

But Ziegler admitted that it won't be easy because, in his opinion, the Ches-Mont is "one of the toughest leagues in eastern Pennsylvania." The favorite, he said, will be West Chester East, with its star pitcher, Bill Muldowney. But he said Henderson also has a good pitcher in Kyle McCardell and other key returning players.

And, of course, not to be left out is cross-town rival Downingtown, which has its own key pitcher Bill Konecny and key offensive palyers like Matt Helm. "It's going to be a tough league." reiterated Ziegler.

He said the key to the Raiders' winning is simple. "We have to get some consistent pitching and play some defense," he said. "We have to play a complete game, pitch, field and hit."

But Ziegler said he knows it won't be easy for his young and inexperienced pitching staff. Pitchers in the Raiders' bullpen this year are seniors Jeff Shumate, Steve Jamison, and Travis Orth; juniors Jeremy Garrison and Mark Yearsley and sophomore Chad Walton. Shumate also will play first base and outfield. Orth will play first base also and Yearsley will play third base in addition to pitching.

Returning for the Raiders this year along with Shumate, Garrison and Orth are senior catchers Joel Guiseppe and Brian Gilson, senior shortstop A.J. Welk, senior right fielder Ron McNiel and senior center fielder Kyle Walker. New this year to the Raiders are infielder Steve Fletcher; junior second baseman Matt Jamison; senior outfield Brendan Prestileo; and junior outfielder Chris McGinley.

Ziegler said while defense is an unknown, the Raiders should be able to hold their own in and out of the league offensively. "Offensively, we should be able to swing the bat a bit," he said. "We should have got some experience with most of the players playing American Legion baseball over the summer."

For now, he said he just has to keep the Raiders focused on where they want to go. "They've got to be prepared for a tough season," he said.

It's way to cold to boo
Daily Local News - April 11, 2002 by Peter Digiovanni

Baseball is a game that needs to be played in warm weather. This is not just for the well being of the players but also for the quality of play.

This past winter was the worst in recent memory. The longevity of the frigid air and the amount of days snow blanketed the ground was depressing to anyone waiting for baseball.

This put the boys of summer far behind.

Adjustments like indoor batting at area cages and working out in gymansiums were made to fill the void, but no one saw any live pitching.

And after the first two weeks of the baseball season, it shows. Players are looking at too many strikes. Time after time these first two weeks, rallies have been killed by guys being struck out looking.

It is like the art of hitting a baseball is a new thing to behold. And the players cannot be blamed for this.

For while batting cages and pitching machines serve a valuable purpose, they do not compare to seeing a hard-throwing right-hander coming over the top, right at you.

Throw in the cold, windy conditions we have had to endure for some early season games and it is very easy to undersand why the pitchers are way ahead of the hitters so far this season.

Winter's return made this a lost week for area players and now the season promises to be a strange one indeed.

Some teams are trying to compensate for being stuck here in southeastern Pennsylvania. Unionville made a trip south before the season started and Great Valley coach Mike Schultz is taking his Patriots to North Carolina over spring break.

Sometimes these trips are taken for bonding reasons but this year the real value may be in getting the kids some valuable swings day after day in warm weather.

Hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do consistently in sports. The guys who do it successfully three times out of ten make many millions of dollars.

These guys have two months in the hot Florida sun facing live pitching every day to hone their immense skills.

The area scholastic diamond guys have had to watch mechanical arms, swing bats in hallways, and find other bizarre ways to get ready for some guys that can throw close to 90 mph ready to take the bat right out of their hands.

So while everyone likes to see people running around the bases and people sliding across home plate, it is unfair to think a week of seeing live pitching can put the batters on any kind of level playing field.

Hitting a round object coming at you at various speeds and from different motions with a bat is an arduous enough task in the middle of June. But on a cold, windy March afternoon, when it may be your fourth day looking at live pitching, it can be impossible.

There is plenty of time left to boo and yell at the batters to get aggressive. For now, let us hope no one gets hit with a fast ball when the wind chill is in the 20s.

When the balls start flying all over the field, then we can yell there is no good pitching out there.

Baseball and snow do not go together, so for the sake of this season please let the sun come out before football practice starts.

Daily Local News
Baseball Top 10
(records through Wednesday)

1.  W.C.East    3-0
2.  Conestoga    4-1
3.  Spring-Ford    3-0
4.  W.C. Henderson    3-0
5.  Avon Grove    3-1
6.  Coatesville    2-2
7.  Downingtown    2-0
8.  O.J. Roberts    2-0
9.  Great Valley    3-1
10. Malvern Prep    3-3

Downingtown rebounds for thrilling win over Coatesville
Daily Local News - April 15, 2002 by Peter Digiovanni

UWCHLAN -- The Coatesville Area High School baseball team knew they had their work cut out for them against Downingtown pitching ace Bill Konecny Monday afternoon. The Red Raiders were hoping to crack through enough to give their own pitching a chance to win.

The Red Raiders did more than crack through, they broke down the wall, garnering 17 hits and eight runs on the afternoon.

But Coatesville fell victim to some terrible throwing errors and a resilient bunch of Whippets (1-0, Ches-Mont, 3-1) to drop a tough 9-8 decision to Downingtown in a Ches-Mont thriller.

"That was Ches-Mont baseball today," Downingtown coach Russ Wren said after the intense affair. "This was a big win for the kids."

The Red Raiders (0-1 Ches-Mont, 3-3) fielding woes staked the Whippets to an early 2-0 lead.

Matt Helm led off with a walk against Coatesville starter Jeremy Garrison. Two throwing errors and a sacrifice fly later and Downingtown had a 2-0 lead after one inning. The Whippets put up the two runs without a hit.

"Offensively we hit the ball real well but if you can’t throw the ball you are in trouble," Coatesville coach Hal Ziegler said. "We caught the ball but we gave them things with some bad throws."

With Konecny not showing his usual brilliant velocity, Coatesville erupted for five runs in the top of the sixth inning.

A.J. Welk led off with a line drive home run to center field to give Coatesville a 4-3 lead. Singles by Brendan Prestillo, Matt Jamison, and Kyle Walker followed.

With Konecny clearly laboring, Travis Orth hit a long bomb to center field for a grand slam and the Red Raiders appeared home free with an 8-3 lead.

"Konecny did not have his best stuff today and he hasn’t so far this year." Wren said.

But the Whippets did not sit down and feel sorry for themselves.

Downingtown touched Garrison for five hits and five runs in their half of the sixth to tie the game at eight.

Sophomore Kyle Roberts hit a bases loaded double which plated two runs during the Whippet rally.

"That was a telling point for our kids," Wren said. "We got right back at them when they scored those five runs."

The see-saw affair took a strange turn in the top of the seventh.

Welk started the inning with his third hit of the day, a sharp single inside the third base bag. Prestillo singled to put men on first and second with no one out.

Brian Karcewski came in to pitch for Downingtown at that point. The reliever was greeted by a nice sacrifice bunt by Matt Jamison moving the runners to second and third with one out.

Then things got real interesting. Kyle Walker looked like he executed a perfect suicide squeeze to give Coatesville a 9-8 lead.

But up came the home plate umpires arm, signaling Walker had stepped on home plate while bunting.

The ruling sent the runners back to their bases and Downingtown escaped when Orth struck out.

Downingtown rallied for the second time in the game to claim their victory.

Mike Sweet got on when he was hit by a pitch. Aaron Castellan then bunted, and when reliever Mark Yearsley attempted to get the out at second, he threw the ball into center field putting runners on first and second with none out.

Rob DeRafelo laid down another bunt, but the fourth Red Raider throwing error allowed the bases to full with none out.

The winning run came home when Bryan Riggins walked, sending sweet across the plate with the improbable victory.

The Red Raiders walked slowly off the field almost in disbelief at their fate but Ziegler said it was just part of this crazy game.

"We won’t quit. There are eight more games (Ches-Mont) left and we sure aren’t going to quit after this."

A beautiful day
Daily Local News - April 16, 2002 by Michael Crist

CALN -- Bishop Shanahan third baseman Kevin Walsh summed up Tuesday afternoon in just five simple words.

Staff photo by Larry McDevitt Coatesville shortstop Matt Gallis (left) collides with Bishop Shanahan's Kurt Yannelli during the Eagles' 10-3 victory on Tuesday. Yannelli was thrown out on the play in which he attempted to steal second.

"It was a beautiful day," said Walsh of the 80-degree temperature, blue skies and sparkling sunshine."

Making it even better for Walsh and the Eagles was their 10-3 nonleague win over host Coatesville.

"It was a total team effort. From top to bottom we hit the ball today," Walsh said. "We worked on things and had two hard days of practice and it paid off."

It paid off for Walsh in major dividends as he went 2-for-4 from the plate with a double and two runs batted in. Ditto for Eagles first baseman Chris Sauk who went 3-for-3 with two well-hit doubles and an RBI.

Another beneficiary was pitcher Nick McLaughlin, who went the distance, striking out four and allowing only four hits to earn the victory.

"Coatesville is a very good team, and to hold off a team like that is something to be proud of," Eagles coach George Hadfield said. "This is the first game that we put everything together, and it’s a start."

However, the win which improved the Eagles to 3-4 overall, didn’t come easy as Coatesville cashed in on a three-run second inning.

Red Raiders left fielder Chris McGinley slapped an RBI-double in that frame, and Coatesville took advantage of two Shanahan errors to take a 3-1 lead.

"We’ve been struggling in the field," Hadfield said. "We had one bad inning, but we came back from it."

The Eagles were all over Coatesville pitcher Steve Jamison in the fourth inning, tagging the right-hander for four runs to take a 5-3 lead into the fifth.

Coatesville, which had played a solid game through five, had a tough time in the field for the second straight outing, making three costly errors in the top of the sixth which led to four more Shanahan runs and a 9-3 deficit.

"I know (Monday against Downingtown) took a lot out of us, but you still have to come to play," Coatesville coach Harold Zeigler said. "Right now we’re floundering. I won’t know where we’re at until someone steps forward and leads us in the right direction."

Coatesville ended the game in what appeared as a small microcosm of the past two days as pinch hitter Jeremy Garrison grounded into a five-four-three double play.

"Mentally we lost it," Ziegler said. "After a league game like (Monday) you can do one of two things; you can take it out on the team you’re playing, or keep thinking about the day before. We did the latter."

Coatesville baseball rebounds with extra-inning win over East
Daily Local News - April 17, 2002 by Peter DiGiovanni

CALN -- The Coatesville Area High School baseball team suffered two tough losses earlier this week. A heartbreaking Ches-Mont defeat to Downingtown on Monday was followed by a bad loss to Bishop Shanahan on Tuesday.

Red Raider coach Hal Ziegler knew it was time to address his troops before the Red Raiders faced the Ches-Mont favorite West Chester East Vikings on Wednesday night.

The little chat must have worked because a spirited bunch of Red Raiders (1-1 league, 4-4 overall) upset the previously undefeated Vikings 6-5 in 10 innings.

"We had two real bad loses this week, so I had a meeting and I did most of the talking," Ziegler said. "And before the game the kids were real quiet and I was afraid I lost them."

"I thought they weren’t going to play for me, but during infield practice they said they were ready and they were going to win tonight."

The outcome did not come easy. The Red Raiders had to survive a three-run homer by the Vikings’ Neil Jackson and a 12-strikeout performance by Chris McCafferty.

Jackson’s fourth-inning homer brought East back from a 4-1 deficit the Vikings put themselves in.

East (1-1, 5-1) made five errors in the first three innings to gift-wrap the early Coatesville lead, something Viking coach Ed Pappas was not happy about.

"We did not execute out on the field tonight," Pappas said. "We didn’t get it done offensively or defensively."

"The home run picked us up but give Coatesville credit -- they played like they wanted it more than we did."

Coatesville got five sterling relief innings from Mark Yearsley to go into the bottom of the seventh inning down one run.

With two out and nobody on, Coatesville put together three straight singles before A.J. Welk was hit by a pitch tying the game at five.

Then East mounted a challenge in the eighth inning. With the bases loaded, Justin Hackett jumped on a fastball and rocketed a ball to deep center. Kyle Walker ran the ball down, making a superb leaping grab to keep the game tied.

"The center fielder made a great play on the ball. He got a great jump." Pappas said.

The Red Raiders won the game in the tenth when Jeff Shumate, who had come on to pitch in the ninth inning, singled sharply to right field scoring Ron McNiel and sending the Caln Park crowd into hysterics.

"I am real proud of the kids," Ziegler said.

"You get what you work for and they have worked very hard."

Coatesville 4, West Chester Henderson 2
Daily Local News - April 23, 2002

Chad Walton's pinch hit single drove in two runs in the sixth inning giving the Red Raiders (2-1, Ches-Mont) the victory.

Joel Guiseppe rapped two doubles for Coatesville and Jeremy Garrison pitched a complete game. Mike McCardell struck out nine for the Warriors (0-3, Ches-Mont).

Coatesville holds off Whippets
Daily Local News - April 25, 2002 by Peter DiGiovanni

CALN - Fantastic finishes are a hallmark of baseball games between Coatesville and Downingtown. Thursday night was no different as Coatesville had to survive a batter’s interference call while Downingtown had the bases loaded to hang on to defeat the Whippets 7-6 in another Ches-Mont League thriller.

Coatesville (3-1 Ches-Mont, 6-4) took a 7-2 lead into the seventh inning but two Red Raiders errors and a Brian Riggins double had the Whippets on the verge of another comeback win.

Last Monday, the Whippets (2-2, 5-4) came from five runs behind to down Coatesville in their last at bat.

But Thursday the Whippets rally fell short. Barely.

Downingtown appeared to tie the game when Clayton Sharpless was plunked by a Jeff Shumate pitch.

But the umpire ruled Sharpless turned into the ball, and he called a strike.

Shumate then got Sharpless to end the game on a grounder to third base.

"You won’t get any excuses out of this dugout but it was a changeup which hit him in the shoulder," Downingtown coach Russ Wren said.

"They (Coatesville) outhit us, fielded better than us and pitched better than us. The game should not have come down to that."

Coatesville did indeed jump out early on Whippets starter Mike Pigott.

The senior lasted just two innings, leaving the game behind 4-2.

Travor Gustafson came on and pitched the last four innings, giving Downingtown some strong relief. But Gustafson did give up a mammoth home run to Joel Giuseppe to lead off the fourth inning for the seventh Red Raiders run.

"I hit a high fastball that was up," Giuseppe said. "We are a good hitting team and we feel we can hit anybody."

Giuseppe had plenty of help from his mates at the plate.

Kyle Walker and Mark Yearsley banged out two hits apiece and sophomore Chad Walton rapped three of the Red Raiders’ 12 on the night.

Coatesville starter Yearsley went six innings before giving way to Shumate after two Red Raiders errors opened the door in the Downingtown seventh.

"At the beginning, Mark (Yearsley) did not have his stuff, but then he picked up his curve ball and his fast ball got better," Coatesville coach Hal Ziegler said.

"We had three pitchers ready tonight behind him."

The win puts Coatesville in a first place tie with West Chester East for the Ches-Mont lead.

The pair are slated to meet next Tuesday at East.

Coatesville 11, Upper Merion 8
Daily Local News - April 26, 2002

Kyle Walker delivered a tie-breaking two-run single in the seventh inning to lead the Red Raiders (6-6) to the nonleague victory.

A.J. Welk homered and drive in three runs; Mark Yearsley had three hits and two RBI; and Matt Jamison pitched four scoreless innings in relief to earn the win.

Donation to light up stadium
Daily Local News - by Bajeerah Lowe

CALN - A donation by two Coatesville Area School District parents in memory of their son was accepted after months of delay by the school board, but only after debate about the appropriateness of the type of donation.

Bill and Kim McCool began raising money shortly after the death of their son, Brandon, in October 2000 from cancer. Their dream was to install lights in the high school baseball field where Brandon played.

"He dreamt of playing for the high school since he was a child." Bill McCool said of his son in an earlier interview. "He played baseball through chemo treatments and radiation."

In fact, Bill McCool said the day Brandon found out he had cancer he left the house and went to school. "That's where he wanted to be, right here." Bill McCool said.

After nearly a year of raising the approximately $70,000 necessary for the project, the McCools hoped to install the lights last spring. The plans were delayed when financial problems in the district were uncovered. "We didn't feel that was the right time to bring it up," McCool said.

With the start of the 2002-2003 school year, the McCools went to the board in August to remind them of the lights.

But the board put off the donation, saying it first wanted a buildings-and-ground facility study done.

In the fall, when questions surrounding the baseball coach and use of baseball funds resurfaced, the McCools rethought their decision. But in the end they decided to proceed with the donation. Their hope is to have the lights installed before the end of the school year as this year's senior class will be the last of the players who would have played with Brandon.

"I want them to be able to play under his lights," Bill McCool said in an earlier interview.

Bill McCool again approached the board last week for acceptance of the donation.

Before accepting the donation, the board debated whether lights were the appropriate donation and whether the district could pay the associated costs.

"It's not just a simple donation," said board member Karen Schmidt, who recommended dugouts as an alternate donation. "There are other costs associated."

Board member Sharon Scott said she too had questions and supported the dugout suggestion. "I'm concerned about the utility costs." she said.

Board member Bill G. Lowe questioned not only the cost to the district but why the lights were being installed before the building facility study was complete.

But board member Ronald M. Scott Jr. said he didn't believe the donation needed to be tied into an overall district plan. In response to the question of cost, Scott said, "The cost of running them is minimal compared to the installation."

"It's a good thing to have lights on the field." he added.

Board member Byron Shearer said he "couldn't believe we're going to quibble on this. We're given a gift." Shearer estimated the cost of operating the lights would not exceed $10 per hour.

Acceptance of the donation was approved by a 5-4 vote. Board members Schmidt, Lowe, Sharon Scott and Diane Brownfield voted against the acceptance.