Powell softball and baseball fields were fixed last year, but they're underwater again

Beaver Creek 2, Powell High School spring sports 0.

For the second year in a row, steady rain has caused Beaver Creek to overflow its banks in Powell, directly behind the high school. That flooding Thursday has caused significant damage to the school’s baseball and softball fields, which are situated in lower ground adjacent to the creek.

Last year’s problem-causing rain happened in mid-February, and caused both programs to stay off their fields until mid-April.

“We had our first practice with two weeks left in the (regular) season,” said veteran Panthers softball coach Jeff Inman. “We put 60 tons of dirt on the field just to get it where the seniors could get some games on the field. It wasn’t level, and there were rocks in the dirt. We put another 60 tons on in the fall and did it right.”

In all, Inman said the flooding did about $20,000 worth of damage. Some of that was covered by community donations, but the bulk came from money generated by the players from fundraisers. 

Now, with the water on the field measured in feet, it’s likely time to start over again.

“Last year it was sad and it hurt,” Inman said. “This year, there’s frustration and irritability. Nothing has been done to alleviate the problem.”

Practice for softball and baseball is scheduled to start Monday. Where or if that happens will still be determined.

Inman said that lack of practice time may have had an impact on his team’s performance last season. The Panthers, who were coming off a Class AAA state championship in 2018, were 35-8 last spring and were eliminated by Farragut in the regional semifinal.

“We only had five or six practices on dirt, and that was for an hour at Levi Park before the recreation teams came,” Inman said. “We weren’t prepared. We were coaching and teaching during the games.

“I thought we were soft because we didn’t have that (preseason) month to prepare. There was no way for us to prepare.”

Josh Warner, Powell’s first-year head baseball coach, got a rude welcome by Mother Nature. He will have 40 players eager to start practice Monday, but with about 8 feet of water lapping against the outfield fence, it probably won’t happen anytime soon.

Warner is a coach with a green thumb who believes his players deserve the best facilities possible. Since he arrived at the start of the school year, about 75 tons of dirt have been applied to the infield and 50 tons of material creating a warning track around the entire field. 

Now, even the bullpens are submerged.

“I’d almost call this a natural disaster,” said Warner. “There’s just nowhere for the water to go.”

Warner said that last season, when he was assistant coach at Pigeon Forge High School, the baseball program had to deal with a flooded field — but nothing of this magnitude.