Less than two years ago the Red Bluff All-Stars came within one game of a trip to the Little League World Series, but this year they may not have a field to play on come opening day.
"I was just absolutely devastated that someone could come out here and tar up a field we spend so much time to keep clean," Red Bluff Little League Safety Officer Eric Gould said.
Hobart Field at Jackson Elementary School was targeted by vandals not once, but twice over the weekend.
The president of the league says one driver damaged the field by doing doughnuts Saturday, but says the biggest impact came when two vehicles returned Sunday.
"They just came back and made it worse. I just see a lot of hours, a lot of hours if we can fix it in time," Red Bluff Little League President Korri McMahan said.
The trucks tore up large sections of the outfield grass leaving long ruts that have made the field unplayable just a month before tryouts and two months before opening day.
"We are going to have hundreds of hours out here to fix this," Gould said. "My biggest concern is making sure we can get this field back in shape to make it safe for the kids to be out here."
Even with a short time to make repairs, league leaders are determined to make it happen.
They say they already have a long list of volunteers ready to step up to the plate.
Now they are just looking for guidance when it comes to the best way to repair the field.
"What we need basically is a landscaper to tell us how to fix it. Then we know what financially it is going to impact us," McMahan said.
Financially league leaders say it would be difficult to re-sod the entire outfield, but are hopeful a lot of hard work and some rental equipment can make the field playable.
If you would like to help, you can contact officials through the Red Bluff Little League website.
