Caraway, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – A youth baseball team in Caraway is renovating the city’s ballfield, while trying to bring tournament sports back to the area.
Trevor Ingram is the head coach of the NEA Dirtbags, a 12u baseball team he’s aiming to transition into a travel ball team. In addition, he, along with the players and some of their parents, are working to renovate the city’s ballfields, complete with new sod, clay, mounds, and more.
“The goal is to bring tournaments back to Caraway,” Ingram said. “Have some money flowing into the community, have some attention to the community and [bring] fun to the kids and everybody else.”
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The team has played out of Lake City for about four years, according to Ingram. He said this past year, the decision was made to move the team to Caraway, as well as begin renovating the field.
“We got out here and started working, these boys started improving, I mean, immediately,” he said. “Just seeing them come together, learning the fundamentals, finding their positions, I mean, it’s cool It’s like seeing a whole new team.”
From there, Ingram said, the momentum continued, and there started to be an interest in taking the team beyond fall ball. In an effort to get a tournament team started, he began reaching out to teams from communities such as Trumann, Newport, West Memphis and Manila, who he said are “getting behind [the team]” and offering to practice, scrimmage, and more.
After practices, the team members would work to clean up the field. Ingram said it had been neglected for years, but the team has picked up trash, raked, mowed and edged the grass, and more. As of Thursday, Aug. 20, the team was working to paint batter’s boxes and baselines.
The next step will be installing new and improved lighting, which the team is trying to collect the money for.
“We got lots of work left to do, but the amount of work that we’ve done already is, it’s crazy what it looks like,” Ingram said.
The team’s fall season starts in about three weeks. Ingram said he wants the team’s first game to be played on the Caraway field.
As renovations have continued, Ingram said the community has shown more interest in the project. He added that the team met with the Caraway City Council and told it what they wanted to do with the field, which Ingram said the council fully supported.
To fund renovations, as well as sports equipment and to secure the money for potential tournament travel, the team is looking for sponsorships. The team will also be hosting some fundraisers in the coming weeks before fall ball starts.
“We’re all coming together and getting excited about it, to see what we can do with it. It’s been an experience,” Ingram said. “It’s made something special for sure.”
Those interested in sponsoring the team can contact Ingram at 870-378-4487, email ingram2192@gmail.com, or reach out to the team on its Facebook page. To keep up to date with the team, as well as upcoming fundraisers, follow it on Facebook.
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