Auburn(WSYR-TV) -- For kids and coaches in the Cayuga County Babe Ruth League, Falcon Park is their baseball mecca.
“It’s beautiful. Falcon Park is beautiful. That’s your, you know, that’s our goal at the beginning of the year,” said Port Byron Assistant Coach Trent Sears. “That's the real deal. It's big time."
Falcon Field typically plays host to the Babe Ruth League Championships. But just eight days before this year’s title game on Saturday, the Doubledays delivered some bad news: Their field would need to be resodded this week, forcing the league to hold its finals elsewhere.
"Obviously, with the drought that's happened, you know, the grass is dying and with them being on it for 10 hours a day it's going to take some wear and tear,” said Doubledays Asst. General Manager, Jason Horbal.
Horbal told NewsChannel 9 that it's simply bad timing. The field needs to be kept to certain minor league standards and with the team being away for the next six days, this was the only time they could do it.
“It takes about a week for the turf and the sod to recover and we had to take this window and go ahead and redo it,” Horbal said.
Port Byron secured a spot in the A-League Final with a win over Skaneateles Monday night. That win is now bittersweet.
The Babe Ruth League is looking for a comparable venue to hold Saturday's championship games, but as of now they seem to be striking out. Many of their options, including Alliance Bank Stadium, have scheduling conflicts. The league's last resort may be the baseball field in Cato.
“It's a dream. That's a goal that we set from day one and not being able to play there, it really breaks my heart,” said Port Byron shortstop, Danny Teabo.
Port Byron’s catcher told NewsChannel 9 that his team still has a title to win, no matter where they play.
"We've got to step it up and not think of not playing there and beat our opponent and win a championship. Bring it back to Port Byron,” said Skyler Jennings.
The Doubledays say they hope to bring those championship games back to Falcon Field next year.
