WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — A Waterford Township woman is weeks away from completing the restoration of a historic softball and baseball field right in her own backyard.
Katie Belliotti is restoring Freehan Field, a historic baseball diamond that dates back to 1972, with the goal of bringing more travel softball opportunities to Waterford.
Watch Jolie Sherman's video report below:
"It's just a great feeling to be able to have it right in your backyard," Belliotti said.
7 News Detroit met her in September just a few months after she and her husband bought the property. She says she wasn't looking for a new home, but when she saw the listing, she said she had to have it.
When asked why she's doing this, she said she noticed there were very few travel softball teams in the area when she began coaching a couple years, and she wanted to change that.
"So, we've been trying to bring softball back to Waterford by our own softball organization, which we joined up with the Outlaws, so we're the Lady Outlaws," Belliotti said. "We've got a 16U team, a 12U team, a 10U team and an 8U team."
Watch our video report from September below:
The finish line is now in sight. Belliotti says the bases are ready to be installed, the scoreboard is operational, and the sprinkler system is working. One of the final steps is waiting on DTE to deliver seven 40-foot utility poles for the netting.
The project has grown into a community-wide effort. Friends, family, neighbors and local business owners have all stepped up to help bring the field back to life.
Among them is Mark Malvich, owner of The Bate Shop, a longtime fishing store in Waterford, who was present the day Freehan Field originally opened in 1972.
"We're going to be concentrating on the full sponsorship on the scoreboard out there. So, whatever it takes to bring it back to life, maintain it, we're in," Malvich said.
Belliotti's father, Steve Ogg, has been a baseball and softball coach for more than 30 years — including his daughter's senior year of college, when the team made it to nationals and won.
"My last day of coaching, Katie's last day of playing, and now she continues on," Ogg said.
Ogg says the field still has work ahead, but the progress is clear.
“One of the things I really enjoy is seeing the grand kids all get into playing ball just like when my three kids, Katie, Kelly and Joe, played ball. It’s like I get to go back in time," Ogg said.
Belliotti plans to make the field a home for her daughter's travel team and other young players in the area.
"So, for us to bring it back and then to provide this field for the next generation, they want to help us do that cause you know what, we want kids off their screens and out here playing ball — softball, baseball, kickball, whatever we can do," Belliotti said.
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