Pump Jacks are getting ready for home opener
TEXAS COLLEGIATE LEAGUE BASEBALL
By LESTER MURRAY news2@kilgorenewsherald.com

With the new summer collegiate baseball season just one week away, things are buzzing at historic Driller Park.

Mike Lieberman, general manager for the East Texas Pump Jacks, says he is still signing players and with thirty players on the roster, only one vacant slot remains.

The home opener will be at Driller Park on Thursday night, June 12, but there is still a lot of work going on in preparation of that game.

Players will arrive in Kilgore on Friday and will play their opener on the road against Coppell on Tuesday.

"You don't want to miss the home opening night," said Lieberman. "There will be all sorts of things going on to make your ballpark experience as exciting as possible. Come out and meet the new mascots, enjoy the view of the field from the new picnic area, enjoy good food and watch a great game."

The gates will open at 6 p.m. and the game will start at 7 p.m. "Our new ticket booth should be arriving in the next couple of days and the new deck should be finished by this weekend," said Lieberman.

Lieberman said no chairs will be allowed into the stadium. The league will provide chairs for all of the season ticket holders in the lower and upper box seats. Ticket holders can "take advantage of the personal service by having your refreshments delivered directly to your seat," said Lieberman.

Virtually all the positions - from ticket takers, servers and announcers to mascots - have been filled with only a couple of positions still open.

One issue Lieberman is still working on is that the new lights the city put in for the walking trail at Harris Street Park stick up above the outfield fences and could cause problems for the batters and fielders. He says he hope to address this situation before the home opener.

One things is for certain, when you hear the crack of the bat, it will be just that - the familiar wooden bats, just like the pros use. "This is something the players will have to get used to as the season progresses, because the college players use metal bats," said Lieberman. "It is a different strategy using wooden bats, rather than metal."

To find out more about the Pump Jacks, who play in the Texas Collegiate League, go to pumpjacksbaseball.com online, or call (903) 218-GO ET.