Coach Scott Nasby's Drury Baseball program will christen the new U.S. Baseball League Ballpark (formerly Price-Cutter Park) near Ozark when the Panthers will play host to William Jewell and Quincy in back-to-back home April series, DU Athletics officials announced on Monday.
The former Price-Cutter Park, the home for the Ozark Mountain Ducks independent minor-league baseball team in the early 2000s, is undergoing a complete makeover after Oklahoma businessman Jeff Williams purchased the facility this winter. That includes a full artificial turf surface and giant video-board scoreboard for the park, which features a combination of permanent chairback and bleacher seating.
Nasby announced that the Panthers will play games against William Jewell on April 9-10 and then the following weekend against Quincy (April 16-17) at the U.S. Baseball League field, which is run by a management team with heavy Drury Baseball program ties. General manager Brad Beattie's son Beau was a four-year member of the Panthers' program, where he played for U.S. Baseball League Vice President for Marketing Mark Stratton, who coached the Panthers for seven seasons when the D-II program debuted in 2007.
"We are excited to have our fans be able to come out to U.S. Baseball Park to experience some Panthers games in a minor league-type stadium," Nasby says. "Coach Stratton and Brad Beattie have big plans for upgrades and renovations there, and it gives us an opportunity to play games at home in a premier stadium. We will be pursuing game day sponsorships for those dates and others and planning promotions to coincide with those dates."
Drury Baseball will play this weekend against Grand Valley State and Winona State in St. Charles, Mo., on the campus of Lindenwood University. The Panthers (0-4) will play their first home games at Meador Park on March 4-6, when they entertain Arkansas Fort Smith for a non-league series.
U.S. Baseball League Park, located just off US Highway 65 at the Highway CC exit, is slated to be the host site for a new summer collegiate baseball league, the Show-Me Collegiate Baseball League, beginning in June. Plans also call for it to be a venue to host outdoor concerts as well as other speciality events in addition to multiple baseball tournaments and events on a regular basis.
