Greenfield Baseball Team Ready for Long-Awaited Home Opener

Because of the reconstruction of the new high school over the last few years, the Greenfield baseball players and coaches have played the role of nomads, wandering from home to home.

Finally, they have a home of their own.

For the first time since 2007, the Greenfield Hustlin’ Hawks will play host to a team on a field at the high school when they take on West Allis Central in a nonconference game at 5 p.m. this afternoon.

“It feels real weird because we can come and play games on our field, our turf,” Greenfield coach Lee Kleszczynski said. “We don’t have to lug equipment there. We don’t have to take it back home. We can practice on our own diamond and have a home-field advantage for once.”

Because of the high school reconstruction project, the Hawks’ lost their old field on the east side of the school’s campus after the 2007 season. In 2008, they played every game on the road, and in 2009 and 2010, they played their home games at nearby Milwaukee Hamilton High School.

They were supposed to open the season at home on Saturday, but that game was postponed because of unplayable field conditions caused by the rain.

“Saturday, when we (the coaches) came, they (the players) were here early,” Kleszczynski said. “You could tell they had so much energy to play the game.”

The new field features two nice dugouts, fenced-in bullpens, a storage shed and ample foul ground.

“The administration did a great job of really putting together a ball park," Kleszczynski said. "They started out from scratch. They had this land here and they did a great job with the dimensions, keeping it enclosed, large dugouts. This is something the kids and Greenfield can be proud of.”

The field, like the old one, will be named Bob Wieland Field and will be rededicated to Wieland in a ceremony June 21.