Hendersonville High School will host a grand re-opening of its home baseball field at Drakes Creek Park on Monday evening to celebrate the completion of renovations made to the field after it was damaged by the flood in May 2010.

The renovations, which were completed with the help of a grant worth $47,366 from the Baseball Tomorrow Fund (BTF), a joint initiative between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association established in 1999, designed to promote the growth of youth baseball and softball throughout the world.

“I know it means a whole to lot our baseball program,” Hendersonville baseball coach Mike Hendrix said. “I can’t really speak on behalf of the parks department, but I think it means a whole lot to them as well to be able to upgrade our facilities even more. It has been a joint effort by us, Major League Baseball and the Hendersonville Parks and Recreation Department.”

Mayor of Hendersonville Scott Foster; Nashville Sounds General Manager Brad Tammen; Nashville Sounds Assistant General Manager Doug Scopel; Hendersonville Parks and Recreation Director Dave LeMarbe and BTF Senior Grant Coordinator Meghan Chisholm will be in attendance at the ceremony along with representatives from Hendersonville High School.

Celebration time

The ceremony will begin at 5:45 p.m., and will precede the Commandos’ home-opener against White House High, which begins at 7.

“It’s been very important because of the flood damage that we had, and we didn’t have the funds to replace the damage, not only with the baseball program, but with some of the other sports as well,” Hendersonville Principal Joni Worsham said. “We had some insurance money that did come in, but it didn’t even come close to covering the things that we’ve been able to do with this grant.”

Hendersonville first learned that it had received the funding in the spring of 2011, after originally applying for the grant in December 2010.

“(Assistant) coach Andy Gilley first saw it on the internet, and he was the one that wrote them and applied for the grant,” Hendrix said. “The flood a couple years ago really helped us get it because it just tore up everything we had down there.”

The flood destroyed the field’s batting cages, pitching screens and caused flood damage to both dugouts, and countless batting practice baseballs were also amongst the long list of ruined equipment.

“To other people that might not mean a whole lot,” Hendrix added.

Renovations to the field include restoration of the outfield, installation of an automatic irrigation system, warning track and new outfield fence.

“The Baseball Tomorrow Fund is honored to assist in funding the renovation of a baseball field that is so integral to the Hendersonville baseball community,” Executive Director of the BTF said. “We know the flooding devastated the lives of so many in this area, and we are happy to help with the restoration effort where we can.”

Sports reporter Michael Murphy can be reached at 575-7118 or mmurphy@mtcngroup.com.