Georgia Southern University Athletics

New Carpet at J.I. Clements Stadium

The home of Eagle Baseball gets a new infield

Baseball | 5/10/2016 1:31:00 PM

Fans at the final seven games of the 2016 regular season will be treated to a new sight, fresh grass. During the Eagles' recent road swing, workers in Statesboro replaced the infield grass at J.I. Clements Stadium with some high level sod.

A number of factors including the unseasonably warm winter in Statesboro resulted in a fungus wreaking havoc on the Bermuda grass in the infield. Appearing a week before the season, the fungus didn't leave the grounds crew at Georgia Southern with many options.

"It really happened at the perfect time," said Nick Scull, Director of Athletic Facilities and Event Management. "Unfortunately, what we needed was a big break in the schedule."

That all changed on April 28th when the team departed for the UL Monroe series. As the bus rolled out to the airport, rolls of sod arrived in Statesboro.

Nimmer Sod Farm in Ridgeland, S.C. provided the grass, aptly named Celebration Bermuda. Initially grown for the RBC Heritage Golf Tournament, the carpet is known for having excellent wear tolerance and recovery, drought resistance and shade tolerance.

Eagle Athletics partnered with Laserturf Southeast out of Watkinsville, Ga. to install the surface. By using their expertise of more than 20 years in the business, they have given the Eagles a pristine surface.

"I'm very proud of the work our grounds crew has put in over the last two weeks," said Scull. "Our new Turf Manager Jake McBride inherited a problem surface when he arrived, but he and his crew have made the field look spectacular. We're proud to share this new-look field with Eagle Nation."

Georgia Southern faces North Florida on Wednesday, May 11 to open a seven game homestand to close the regular season. Clemson comes to town this weekend for a three-game set starting on Friday night at 7 p.m. In May 2017, Georgia Southern will welecome the league to Statesboro for the Sun Belt Baseball Championships.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by visiting GSEagles.com/Tickets.

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