South Salem High School's baseball field, Gilmore Field, 'destroyed;' 2 teens arrested

South Salem’s baseball field, Gilmore Field, was damaged Monday night. Two 16-year-olds in a truck will face criminal mischief charges, according to Salem police.

According to police, dispatch received a call at about 5:20 p.m. about a truck that had driven up and over the berm that surrounds a portion of the field.

“A neighbor across the street looks out after the field, and saw that the truck got high-centered and stuck, and she called the police,” South Salem baseball coach Max Price told the Statesman Journal.

The witness reported seeing two male teenagers in the truck and reported seeing the car driving in circles on the ballfield, police said in an email to the Statesman.

When officers arrived, they located two juveniles, both 16, with the stuck truck.

Police said the teens were released into the custody of their parents and referred to the Marion County Juvenile Department on charges of criminal mischief in the first degree.

“It’s hard to estimate the damage, but it’s tens of thousands of dollars," added Price. "The field is destroyed.”

Earlier this fall, South Salem did some maintenance work on the field to get it ready for winter, and the community pitched in to help.

“We had probably 60 people help work on the field,” Price said. “It’s just so disheartening. So much work goes in by so many people to keep the fields nice, and it gets ruined by a few minutes of joyriding.”

Price said that the school has pressed charges against those responsible for the damage.

“Kids do dumb things,” Price said. “But I wish they would take a second and consider all the hard work behind keeping up our fields and facilities.”

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: South Salem High School's Gilmore Field 'destroyed'