KINGSVILLE, Tx — Friday morning, cheers echoed throughout Whataburger Field as kids of all ages put on their baseball gloves, picked up their bats and played ball.
OxyChem, a chemistry manufacturer aimed at enhancing healthy lives for those in the Coastal Bend, funded and installed an artificial turf field at the youth ballpark, right behind the main minor league baseball field.
OxyChem partnered with the Corpus Christi Hooks for the six-week project and held their ribbon-cutting, where players from the Challengers Division with Little League were invited to break in the field.
“I love seeing the excitement of the kids and hopefully we can make a lot more memories with the children and their families. Being an artificial surface, it lends a lot of flexibility, so they’re talking about wiffle ball and other types of sports so it really will be a multi-facility and hopefully encourage people to use this field more and more,” OxyChem Plant Manager Todd Behne said.
Many kids who participated in the Play Ball youth skills camp Friday morning at the field have physical or mental challenges, but that doesn’t stop them from playing the sport they love.
“It shows the community that all kids want to enjoy the sport of baseball and despite any challenges you may have you want to enjoy the sport with all your other peers. This pulls on my heart so much when I get to see all the kiddos enjoy the sport. The laughs, the smiles, the accomplishments of them hitting, catching the ball,” Challenger Division Coordinator Deane Gibson.
The Corpus Christi Hooks hope to work with area little leagues to host some of their games at the new field in the future.
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