Sports

Baseball: La Salle Reportedly In Talks to Play at Arcadia County Park

Move to Arcadia County Park would help "even the playing field" for the Lancers.

The La Salle baseball team soon might have a new home in Arcadia, according to a report in the Pasadena Star-News

Both La Salle athletic director John Matheus and Anthony Harris, who will replace Matheus as AD starting July 1, both confirmed to the Star-News that the school is in negotiations for a long-term deal that would have the Lancers playing its home baseball games at Arcadia County Park beginning next season.

The article also stated La Salle’s long-term plans could include a pool addition and a new gymnasium. The gym would be constructed where the current baseball field resides, furthering the need to find new location for the baseball team.

Find out what's happening in Arcadiawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

La Salle baseball coach Harry Agajanian said he’d be in favor of making Arcadia County Park, about a 10 minute bus ride from La Salle High School, the Lancers’ permanent home field because the field’s dimensions create a more favorable playing environment.

“It evens the playing field,” he said. “As you’ve seen at our place, pop flies are pretty much home runs. … It just doesn’t seem like the right place to play when you’ve got some strong athletes.”

Find out what's happening in Arcadiawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The quirky setup at La Salle, where the right-centerfield fence stands only 260 feet from home plate, can oftentimes turn routine fly balls into home runs, leading to situations where the Lancers are at a disadvantage against a power hitting club. That was the case April 15 when Bishop Amat mashed four home runs en route to a 14-1 rout at La Salle.

Agajanian said the field dimensions at Arcadia County Park are 320 feet down the right and left field lines and about 350 feet to dead center. 

“Pitchers will be much happier,” he said.

La Salle has pervious experience at Arcadia County Park, as the Lancers played their Del Rey League home games there during the 2010 season when they finished third in league.

Agajanian said that first game away from their home stadium highlighted the differences between the two fields. In that game Bishop Montgomery’s leadoff hitter ripped a shot to deep right-center field that fell for a double. At La Salle, Agajanian said, that ball would have been a home run.

Agajanian said Arcadia County Park is playable right now, but the facility needs a little “TLC” if the Lancers are to play there on a permanent basis.

Among the improvements Agajanian said he’d like to see are renovations to the dugouts, and new bullpens and foul poles. He also said they would need to install new grass and relevel the infield.

There are also lights and a large section of stands, which Agajanian said would allow the Lancers to possibly host a tournament.

If this spring is indeed La Salle’s last at its current home field, the Lancers could potentially send its old stadium out with a bang. La Salle recently clinched a second place finish in the Del Rey League — the club’s best finish since joining the league in 2006.

“That’s huge,” Agajanian said. “(With Bishop Amat in the DRL) that’s almost like winning league. So that’s real huge for us. We’re real proud of that. But we can’t stop there. We have to keep pushing forward.”

Given their second place finish in league, Agajanian said the Lancers should host a first round playoff game for the first time since the 2005 season when they won the Santa Fe League.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Arcadia