Worth the wait: Generals celebrate long-awaited field upgrades
Wooster Athletic Director Alex Mallue, left, and baseball coach Steve Young take part in the turf project ceremony on April 23 at the newly renovated Legacy Field.
It was worth the wait.
The new artificial turf infields and park renovations at Wooster High School’s Legacy Fields are even better than baseball coach Steve Young and softball pilot Jimmy Williams imagined.
The Generals held a baseball/softball turf celebration April 23 when they honored the turf committee and top donors, led by Upward Bound Youth and United Titanium for the $730,000 project. New fencing also was installed, as well as other improvements.
“Every single detail is on point,” said Young, whose baseball team entered the week with a 14-3 (6-1 Ohio Cardinal Conference) record. “I’ve had the same kind of design in my head for nine years since I was first hired here, and everything’s literally perfect.
“AgDesign and AstroTurf did a great job. Now it’s up to us to try and maintain it. We are definitely going to take care of that thing because we know all the hard work and all the community support that went into us getting it. We’re super-thankful, and we’re definitely not going to take it for granted for one second.”
The turf project, highlighted in an October 2024 Wooster Weekly News article, has enabled the baseball and softball teams to play games or practice on numerous days that would have been complete washouts in past years.
Williams’ softball team has already played 22 games, compiling a 5-17 (2-6 OCC) mark against an extremely competitive schedule.
“Man, we’re so blessed to have the turf at our softball field,” Williams said. “The playability is exceptional — better than expected — and we’ve been able to get so many more games in. We’ve been able to still get outside with all this rain that we’ve had this spring.
“Probably not too many teams in the area have 22 games in at this point of the season. I couldn’t be more excited about the work that’s been done on our field, from a turf perspective, fencing, just the overall project. It’s a huge benefit for our program, and our girls absolutely love it. We’re very grateful.”
Young said he will do everything possible to make sure they do right by all the donors and all the Wooster baseball alumni.
The Generals, winners of three straight OCC titles from 2021-23 and many big tournament victories, including back-to-back district championships the last two seasons, have a team that could once again make noise in the postseason.
An almost unheard-of five seniors are fourth-year starters: pitcher-third baseman Brady Bowen, center fielder Hayden Meese, shortstop Ben Winge, pitcher-first baseman Sam Nielsen and pitcher-left fielder AJ Likowski.
Bowen, Winge and Nielsen have all signed to play for Akron, Meese has accepted a football scholarship to Davidson, and Likowski has committed to play for John Carroll.
Bowen became the school’s all-time wins leader (24) in April and entered the week with a 4-1 record with a 1.53 ERA and a team-high 32 innings pitched in 2025. He’s also batting .352 with 15 RBI and 16 runs.
Winge leads the team with a .546 on-base percentage. He’s batting .380 with a team-high 10 extra-base hits including a team-high six doubles, two home runs, 23 runs and 15 walks.
Meese (.411, 21 runs), Likowski (.304) and Nielsen (.255) also bring lots of big-game experience to the Generals.
“Those five kids definitely earned it to start as freshmen, but they were forced into a spot where we kind of had to play them every day,” Young said. “They never batted an eye; they never flinched. They’ve attacked every single game, every single opponent. They’re fearless.”
The five seniors have set an example that’s carried over to the rest of the team and helped lead Wooster to one of the best stretches in program history.
“Those guys have taken it to the next level, and they’re holding guys accountable,” Young said. “When you look at what they’ve done, just the record, OCC titles and (2023 and 2024) district championships, it’s literally unprecedented in Wooster baseball history. I’m super-proud of them, and hopefully, we have a good, strong finish here, and we can try and make some more history.”
Sophomores Brock Bowen (team-best .483 batting average, 3-1, 1.28 ERA) and Aiden McMillan (.389, 20 RBI) also have been huge contributors. Brock Bowen is an infielder or designated hitter when not pitching, and McMillan is the right fielder.
Junior Brian Lapp (3-0, 0.72 ERA, 19.1 IP) and sophomore Lucas Shiplett (1-0, 14 IP, 3.00) also have pitched well.
The Wooster softball team’s win-loss record doesn’t jump off the page, but Williams said the Generals have been competitive against a schedule that includes eight teams ranked in the top 10 in their division.
Senior catcher Emily Boyd, who will continue her career at Mount Union, leads Wooster in batting average (.433), extra-base hits (nine) and RBI (15).
Kennedy Russell (.361, team-high 20 runs) and Ava Craemer (.302) are the next two leading hitters.
“Emily has been our leader both on and off the field,” Williams said. “She’s leading in every major offensive category, and she’s just rock solid behind the plate.”
The Generals have used three different pitchers in Sydney McAfoos (3-8, 68.1 IP, 65 K), Brielle Burchette (39.2 IP) and Ella Karger (28 IP).
“I couldn’t be more pleased with how those three pitching in the circle are battling for us,” Williams said. “They are three completely different style pitchers who really give us flexibility to give teams different looks.”