By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The 2023 schedule is out, the Great Bend Bat Cats begin their seventh year with a season-opener on June 2. The Sunflower Collegiate League has rebranded to the Jayhawk Collegiate League. After the 2018 season, the Jayhawk split up, leading to the absence of the league for four seasons. After some realignment, the Jayhawk Collegiate League has reformed and will include Great Bend, Derby Twins, Haysville Aviators, Hutchinson Monarchs, Kansas Cannons, Kingman Islanders and the Newton Sluggin' Rebels.
With a new look, Bat Cats’ General Manager Roger Ward was pleased to announce that Great Bend will host the league’s All-Star Game in July.
"Hosting the All-Star Game is big for Great Bend," said Ward. "It's a testament to the city and everyone involved making improvements to Al Burns Field. We're hoping to put on a good show and that it's going to lead to bigger events."
Updates to Al Burns Field at Veterans Park in Great Bend were completed last
summer, the first major renovations to the field since the mid-1970s. The
grandstands were repainted, new dugouts were built, a new backstop was
installed and a new netting replaced the old chain-link fence. New light poles
were installed around the ballfield in 2020.
Ward is hopeful a new scoreboard will be in place for this summer’s season.
"We're about 99.9% sure that we're going to get a new 28' x 8' scoreboard in left-center field," said Ward. "We're working hard to complete the project the city did last year with the new dugouts and backstop. We want to get those painted."
Ward is working to get padding on the backstop and new tarps for the field. Ward mentioned he is also considering extending the upgraded right field wall to create a high center field wall for a hitter's eye.
The Bat Cats are currently selling tickets for their annual beef fundraiser. For $20, you can purchase a ticket for one of seven beef bundles. There will be 300 tickets sold. Visit the Great Bend Bat Cats Facebook page for more details on the fundraiser.
