WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — A Waterford family is turning their backyard into a field of dreams by restoring a historic baseball diamond.
Katie Belliotti has a long history with softball from playing at the collegiate level to coaching.
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"I coached at Walled Lake Central, Lake Orion and Kettering. Now, I'm here just to raise my kids and be there for their sports," Belliotti said.
Earlier this year, she took her passion to the next level when she and her husband were alerted to a house listing that included an entire baseball diamond.
"I had never even heard of it, even though I live in this town. So, I looked at the listing and I called my husband and I was like we have to look at this house, we have to buy it. We weren't even looking for a house," Belliotti said.
The property came with Freehan Field, a baseball diamond that has been around since 1972. According to Belliotti, it was built by a Waterford police officer with help from former Detroit Tigers catcher Bill Freehan.
However, over recent years, the field had fallen into decay and hadn't been used for many sports.
"This was all grass and overgrown," Belliotti said.
Now, Belliotti is working hard to restore the field including chopping down tall grass, raising money for a new backstop and fixing the scoreboard. She plans to make it the home of her daughter's team, the Lady Outlaws.
"So many coaches and different organizations, they guard their fields like nobody can play on here and they lock them up tight and they don't let kids play, and that's all they want to do is play softball or baseball," she said.
She also envisions the field being accessible to the entire community, opening it up and renting it to other teams for a fraction of what other fields may cost.
"We can rent the field out to them for 50, 60 dollars comparable to 100, 200 dollars that other fields charge," Belliotti said.
One local parent, Lynn Koyl, says her father played at Freehan Field and she's glad her daughter has that same opportunity.
"Harper is really excited to continue the legacy and hopefully pitch on the field he pitched on as well," Koyl said. "Who could've dreamed of this."
Belliotti's niece, Marjorie Zizelman, a softball player herself, says when she first saw the diamond in her aunt's backyard, she could only imagine its impact.
"I could see the potential it had and just the opportunities it's going to make for all the kids in the area," Zizelman said.
To support the restoration efforts at Freehan Field, a GoFundMe has been created has been created.
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