Officials from the Petal Dugout Club recently received an unexpected, but welcome gift in the form of $735,000 from an anonymous donor that will be used to improve the grounds at Petal High School’s baseball and softball fields.
Matt Dillon, superintendent of the Petal School District, said he is grateful of donations of any size, but one of this amount makes a special difference.
“We have such a supportive community to have a donation of this size to benefit our student-athletes, in both baseball and softball, is very, very special,” he said. “I’m so proud for our coaches and our student-athletes to be able to benefit from this donation.
“Obviously, it’s going to be able to give us an advantage to compete at the highest level when it comes to practice and it comes to competition. Also, from a resource perspective, it’s going to allow us less maintenance cost with not having to keep up with the cost associated with the fields, so we can direct some of those resources in other areas. So it’s an exciting time for our baseball and softball programs.”
In particular, the funds will be used to turf the infields and foul territories of the baseball and softball fields. No district funds or tax dollars from the recent bond referendum – funds from which will be utilized to construct a new elementary school – will be used.
“The infield and the foul territory will be turfed, and the outfield will remain grass,” Dillon said. “In addition to that, we are going to be doing some other things around that as well, so it’s exciting.
“The $735,000 will cover everything on the baseball field, and then we’ll be looking to work through what we need to complete softball for the next season.”
Per the donor’s request, construction on the baseball field has already begun, and is expected to be complete in late January 2024. The softball field should be ready prior to the 2025 season.
“A lot has happened over the last few weeks in order to get to this spot, and now that we have dirt being moved around the baseball field, it’s going to impact us this season,” Dillon said. “And then prior to the start of the 2025 season, it’s going to impact our girls’ (team).
“So there’s a lot of movement on that end of campus in a short amount of time. There’s a lot of excitement about that.”
Dillon said the monetary gift was a complete surprise to him and other district officials.
“This person approached us and worked through our baseball coach, and worked through district officials, in wanting to help and give back,” he said. “They’re just such a humble person to want to remain anonymous, and someone who wants to give back and has a heart for kids.
“We’re just so blessed to have somebody that wants to give back this way, to benefit our student-athletes.”
The Petal Dugout Club, established in 2008, is a 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to promote and assist the Petal High School baseball team through memberships, sponsorships and fundraising events for the purchase of any needed equipment as well as for the further improvement and construction of any facilities related to the Petal High School baseball program.
“I am both grateful and thrilled for this generous donation that will transform our fields,” club president J.J. Thoms said. “On behalf of the Petal Dugout Club, we extend our heartfelt thanks for making these upgrades possible.”
