LET THERE BE LIGHTS!!
Andrew Checketts was out on the recruiting trail last week, looking for the next group of baseball players that will help UCSB maintain its control of the Big West Conference.
Nearly an hour into returning to the friendly confines of Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, he noticed something: There were some big holes in right-centerfield.
“We got holes!”
And that is the best thing possible for the UCSB head coach, as that means the program is inching toward having the stadium lights that have been in the works for nearly three decades.
Work began on the installing the lighting last week, with work slated to be done near the end of August.
“It’s really rewarding,” Checketts said. “We are cautiously optimistic. We know how projects can go. It’s like having a lead in the seventh or eighth (inning), you have a chance to win, but you have to make sure you finish it off and don’t drop the ball.
“Once we see a pole erect, we’ll get even more excited about it.”
After years of fundraising and an unexpected stall do to soft turf this time last summer, the project was pushed forward toward the end of this past baseball season.
Former players and boosters of the program have been texting Checketts this week, not sure if they should believe what they hear.
“There’s still some disbelief,” Checketts said. “We will play the alumni game under the lights, so all those guys we recruited over the years will have the chance to play under them. We’ll make honest men out of ourselves.”
