Pope John Paul II Commemorates School’s First Baseball Field, Game Is Rained Out

The Eagles mascot assists as the school’s new field is blessed.

In the past whenever a weather delay occurred, the Pope John Paul II baseball team simply sat back and watched as the grounds crew at Sugar Sand Park dealt with it.

But now that the team has their own on-campus field, when the rains come down it is now their responsibility to handle things to take care of the field.

The Eagles would not have it any other way.

Although Mother Nature crashed the party to commemorate the school’s first-ever baseball field on Saturday, washing out the Eagles’ game against St. Albans (Washington D.C.), the Eagles were able to conduct their Grand Opening Ceremony as scheduled.

On this day in which there were many firsts, the final such thing came when the players had to roll out the tarps and cover their home field for the first time.

It was just one more chance for the players to take ownership and appreciate what they have for the first time in Pope John Paul II’s 32-year history.

“The main thing is we finally have a field,” Eagles coach Pete Graffeo said. “We would have liked to play, but we can’t control that.”

The teams had played a tight game through two innings, with the Eagles holding a 1-0 lead and the Bulldogs batting with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the third when the rain finally made the field conditions unplayable.

“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes it rains,” Eagles assistant coach Eddie Rapuano joked.

The strong rains came after the weather had lightened up to allow the school to hold the ceremony in which they were able to celebrate, congratulate and thank all those involved who had helped make this moment possible. Senior Connor Norton spoke on behalf of the seniors on the team, who had waited the longest for this day to arrive after years of always playing away games even as the home team. Coach Graffeo was presented with a plaque in appreciation for his efforts, and the field was blessed prior to play.

Throwing out the ceremonial first pitch was local Major League umpire Ed Rapuano. The pitch went for a strike.

The game even had the benefit of four umpires, as the umpire association had covered the costs of the extra two umps in recognition of the event.

While the fans were treated with just a taste of the baseball they can come to expect here, Coach Graffeo is just happy that this day has finally arrived and now they can focus back on baseball.

“When I took over as coach they insisted they would build this for us. So we all stayed on them, myself, Greg Norton and Ed Rapuano. We know what this means for the program,” Graffeo said. “People might not realize the hard work that was put into this. It was a lot of work, but we’re just glad that we got it done. Now it’s for us to maintain and keep up with it.”

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