Dakota Wesleyan baseball looks for shoveling help at Drake Field to allow Tigers to get some home games

Marcus Traxler, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
Updated ·1 min read

Mar. 27—MITCHELL — Getting past one of the snowiest winter seasons on record, the Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team is getting closer to being able to play on its home field soon.

To do that, they were looking for some help from Mitchell residents on Monday to help clear Drake Field from remaining snow.

Equipped with artificial turf in the infield late in the 2022 college season, the Tigers are seeking to make use of the artificial surface at Drake Field for the first full season.

But the weather hasn't cooperated to this point, with Mitchell receiving 58.5 inches of snow over the winter, according to the National Weather Service office in Sioux Falls. As of Sunday, according to the NWS, Mitchell had at least an inch of snow on the ground for 108 straight days, a record for the city. The previous record was 106 set in 1969.

To date this season, DWU has had five games postponed or canceled, counting a doubleheader with Presentation on Tuesday. The earliest of those was an optimistically scheduled March 14 doubleheader with Northern State in Mitchell. The Tigers also moved a home doubleheader with Mount Marty on Friday, March 24 to Seward, Nebraska, to get away from the snow.

On Twitter, DWU baseball put out the call for community help to get the field cleaned up. DWU is home on Saturday, April 1 for a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Dordt and hosts Midland at noon on Sunday, April 2.

The Tigers are 3-14 overall on the season and 0-6 in Great Plains Athletic Conference play.