As tiny pink clouds lazily floated over a deep blue sky, the sharp sound of slicing scissors cut through the humid air. Small brown bluffs dotted with trees provided the entire area with a lush green backdrop, and the Vicksburg High band could be heard in the distance. It was the perfect setting for a perfect evening for Vicksburg’s softball team, which officially christened its new stadium in a pre-game ceremony Tuesday night. 

With community leaders and parents who helped make this dream a reality packed inside the newly dubbed “Softball Swamp,” the 2014 Missy Gators and their coaching staff cut the ribbon over home plate to signal the opening of the new field.

“I’m so excited for our girls. I’ve been with the team for six years,” Vicksburg’s softball booster club president Karen Screws said. “My daughter has played with them for six years, and every year we’d have to drive to the city field at Bazinsky Park. We’re excited.”

The formerly abandoned field sat dormant for years before fast pitch head coach Brian Ellis drove by with a vision and a weed trimmer. With a plan formulated in his mind, Ellis slowly put the wheels in motion to begin building a new softball complex.

“Softball is my passion. I’m very passionate about it and putting an environment out there for my players to be successful,” he said. “Lo and behold, we didn’t have a field here. I just happened to be driving by and I saw this field.”

So he took it upon himself to plan out a process that would turn the muddy swamp before him into the Softball Swamp that he walked into Tuesday. With the help of the entire community, from fundraising money to painting the outfield fence, the school was able to finally give its softball team a permanent home.

“This is the village that everyone built,” slow pitch head coach Michelle Fisackerly said. “I guess if you build it, they will come. This is the field of dreams.”