By TEDDY ALLEN/Designated Writers

“Oh the sun’s gonna shine in my life once more,

Love’s gonna live here again…”

— Buck Owens and the Buckaroos

As you can tell from the photograph taken by non-professional visual artist Me, things are getting for reals at the site of the old J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.

There used to be a ballpark here. And there will one day be a ballpark here again.

Beautiful memories of the old ballpark. But an April tornado snuffed it and several other athletic facilities on the Ruston campus out. Hurt me.

But the silver lining is Insurance, FEMA, the state, and the athletics facilities to come. Tech revealed pictures of the new joints Thursday, all posted on latechsports.com and the Louisiana Tech Athletics facebook page.

LA Tech’s new soccer/softball complex and new baseball field is going to be a dramatic, inspiring addition to the 21st century campus landscape. The pictures can’t do the final product justice.

The baseball structure, on the old site, will reach 15 feet higher at that same Tech Drive, West Alabama entrance to campus. You won’t have to leave the concourse to go to a bathroom or concession stand. The field will turn about two degrees toward left field, and there will be more tailgating area down the right field line. The plate will be within five feet of where it was, but the stands will be closer and begin at field level. The dimensions aren’t yet set in stone.

The rugby field across from Marbury House will be the new soccer field, and west down the hill in a bit of what is now parking will be the softball field. Joining the two will be the best female student-athlete facility in the region, connected soccer and softball coomplexes on two levels since the ground from the rugby field drops 30 feet now; that natural drop helps to make the final product more distinctive and dramatic.The softball field would be situated about as it is now if you could pick up the old field — now cleaned up and gone — and set it where the new field will be.

The goal is for soccer to have its field by fall but that’s still a jump ball. Maybe the softball and baseball complexes won’t be completely ready by next February, but the playing fields will be and Tech can have home games again. In sweet new digs.

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