'The fields were a pond.' Flood waters ravage ballfields in Westover
MORGANTOWN — The waters have now receded from Westover City Park.
What was left behind resembles very little of what once was, as continual rain storms led to flooding in the park the likes of which had never been witnessed before.
'A few years ago, we had some rains that destroyed some of the infields,' said Johnny Seggie, president of the WesMon Youth Baseball leagues. 'It was taken care of in a couple of days. This? I've never seen anything like this, ever.'
The constant rain had taken the city pond nearly five acres in size and located at the top of the hill in the park to its crest during Father's Day weekend. What were once innocent and harmless creeks flowing throughout the area were now small rivers, Seggie said.
The rain just wouldn't let up and that water had to go somewhere. That somewhere was down the hill like a waterfall and into the baseball fields, creating a site never witnessed in the area before.
Seggie would know. He grew up as a kid playing on the five fields within the park. He remembers riding his bike down there a time, or two, before getting chased off.
'Just dumb kid stuff,' he said.
He coached his two sons on those fields and also served as vice president before taking over as president of the league two years ago.
Amber Thorne is the WesMon board's treasurer, the longest active member on the board.
She first heard of the flooding on Father's Day.
'I remember thinking it couldn't be that bad,' she said. 'Then my husband and I drove over there and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
'The fields were a pond.'
'I don't think there was anything that could have stopped it.'
Johnny Seggie, WesMon youth baseball president
Tops of bleachers were floating in areas where tops of bleachers just aren't supposed to be.
On one field, the waters nearly reached high enough to submerge the dugouts on the field.
'Those dugouts are eight feet tall,' Seggie said.
Mud and water were running off the hillside as if this was a water park rather than a baseball park.
'Water was coming down off the hill, you just could never imagine something like this happening,' Thorne said. 'Not like this.' A large sinkhole was left next to a playground after the flood waters receded. (Ron Rittenhouse/The Dominion Post)
The good news, if there is such a thing in a situation like this, is the regular seasons in most of the leagues had already come to a close prior to the flooding.
The league set a record this spring with a total of 533 kids participating in leagues that begin at the preschool age up to 14-years old.
'The league affected the most was our T-Ball league,' Seggie said. 'We had to cancel some games earlier because of rain, so we were hoping to get some more of those games in.'
The annual All-Star weekend at the park has been put on hold.
Teams that advanced to sectional and district qualifiers, WesMon officials are now scrambling to find fields in the area to play those games that could eventually lead a local team to the state championship and a shot at playing in the Southeast Regional, in Warner Robins, Ga.
The winner of the Southeast Regional advances to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
To make a donation to WesMon Youth Baseball, send a Venmo to @WesMon-League or cash and checks can be dropped off at McCulla Funeral Home in Westover.
The park is now closed until Westover city officials can assess the damage and begin structural repairs.
As far as the upkeep of the playgrounds, fields, bleachers and dugouts, that falls on the WesMon organization.
The majority of the fields, Seggie said, will have to be dug up and constructed again from scratch, due to the amount of mud currently on the fields.
'We'll have to put brand new field mix on most of the fields,' Seggie said. 'It's $700 a ton for the field mix. We used about 10 tons of it this year and last year. We'll need more now.'
That's where donations to the league can help the most. Much like the waters from the rains, donations have been flooding in so far.
'In just the three days after the flood, word has gotten out and really a staggering amount has come in,' Seggie said. 'We've had so many people reach out to us who wanted to help, but you can only do so much with rakes and shovels.
'We will get through this. It's going to take a ton of work, but I think we can get everything ready for next season.'
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