A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2019
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LACROSSE
Hermiston Lacrosse looks
toward a field of their own
By BRETT KANE
STAFF WRITER
M
ost sports in Herm-
iston have their
place. Soccer has
Butte Park. Base-
ball has the Field of Dreams.
But the lacrosse program has
long been in search of a perma-
nent home.
Hermiston’s lacrosse club,
which consists of age groups
from kindergarten through high
school, has grown from 40
members to over 150 in just four
years. They practice at Sand-
stone Middle School, and play
home games and tournaments at
elementary and middle schools
all across town. As the program
continues to grow, so does the
need for its own field.
“It goes back to a prob-
lem that all of our youth sports
are having,” former Hermis-
ton Lacrosse Association Pres-
ident Scott Purswell said. “No
one has enough grass. We’re
all fighting for it. It just doesn’t
work. We’re beggars. We get the
scraps. We talked about buying
grounds, and someone asked,
‘Why not EOTEC?’”
The lacrosse team plays
most of their away games in
the Tri-Cities, Spokane, and
Yakima, but their home field is
always changing.
Purswell said EOTEC has the
kind of clean, buildable grounds
that a lacrosse field would need.
The program has been serious
about their search for a location
for the past two years, and the
EOTEC board took an interest.
“EOTEC is a possible
longterm solution,” Hermis-
ton Parks and Recreation Direc-
tor Larry Fetter said. “(The
lacrosse program) has had some
very noticeable growth over the
years, and it looks like its popu-
larity will only grow. They need
a home.”
Hermiston’s AYSO soccer
teams went through the same
dilemma over 30 years ago,
before Butte Park became its
home for local matches.
“Lacrosse doesn’t have that
benefit right now,” Fetter said.
“They have to hunt for any
Contributed photo by Kari Christiansen
Hermiston’s Ty Knutz (17) looks for a loose ball among a swarm of Selah defenders during a lacrosse game at Kennison Field in Hermiston in
2017.
scrap of turf they can. They’re
going to be around for a long
time.”
Of the 100 acres on the
EOTEC property, the lacrosse
program is eyeing 20 of it to
construct their proposed field,
which will include fresh turf,
lights, and a sprinkler system.
Once built, they hope to host all
local practices, games, and tour-
naments at the location.
The program has been work-
ing with the city of Hermiston,
EOTEC, and EOTEC’s private
management company Venu-
Works to set things in motion,
but it’s a process that has taken
longer than intended.
“We had hoped to start last
year after the (Umatilla County
Fair) ended. That’s when we
wanted to start the earth work,”
Purswell said. “It takes four
months to get the grounds
cleaned and sprinklers set up.”
The lacrosse team’s fall sea-
son is played up in the Tri-Cit-
ies, but their spring schedule,
which kicks off at the end of
February, is played locally. Pur-
swell said the goal is to make
even more progress before then.
“I hope it would be soon,” he
said of construction. “Our sea-
son is in the spring — we need
to get the grass established.”
The team is funded entirely
by donations. Purswell noted
that they are only able to cover
expenses for pipes and sprin-
klers alone. Their dream, he
said, is to install their own light-
ing system, as well.
“We’re looking for help to
build this project,” he said.
“(Lacrosse) has elements of
soccer, hockey and football.
There are kids who were meant
for baseball. They’ll play it no
matter what. But there’s a lot of
kids just sitting inside. We’re
seeing growth year after year.
They love lacrosse. We’re run-
ning out of room for them. We
want to get the kids active.”
HALL OF FAME
Mayor of Hermiston gets inducted into the Fastpitch Hall of Fame
By JESSICA POLLARD
STAFF WRITER
He’s the mayor, he’s
your local optometrist, and
last week he was inducted
into the North American
Fastpitch Association Hall
of Fame.
Dr. David Drotzmann
was presented with the
honor alongside seven other
players during the NAFA
A-Major tournament in
Mankato, Minnesota.
Drotzmann has been
playing fastpitch softball for
over 30 years. Back in the
day, he played basketball
and volleyball. He wasn’t
introduced to fastpitch until
after high school, as he pre-
pared to head to college.
“Some friends of mine
were playing this game
called fastpitch. I had no
idea what it was about, and
they invited me to play,”
Drotzmann said. “I played,
and I wasn’t very good. But
I found it fun, and I stuck it
out.”
The hard work even-
tually paid off. Today, he
plays with the Lacey A’s of
Lacey, Washington.
“We’re probably one of
the most competitive teams
in the Northwest,” Drotz-
mann said.
He noted that the team
usually fares well during
HH File Photo
Drotzmann
Nationals, but this year they
underperformed.
Next season, Drotzmann
will also be eligible to com-
pete in Masters tournaments
through NAFA, as he heads
towards his 50th birthday.
Drotzmann, along with
other experienced members
of the Lacey A’s, provide
leadership and guidance for
the team.
He’s also got 20 years of
coaching behind him.
In the past, Drotz-
mann has acted as an assis-
tant and pitching coach
for high schoolers, first in
his hometown of Yakima,
Washington.
When he moved to
Hermiston in 1998, he
resumed coaching the fol-
lowing year. Drotzmann
was coaching the Bulldogs
when his daughter Abi was
on the team. They took sec-
ond to the Sandy Pioneers
at the state championship in
2013, 1-0.
Drotzmann took a 9-year
break from his own fast-
pitch career as his children
went through school, and
resumed recently as they’ve
begun college. He doesn’t
seem to be slowing down
anytime soon.
“I go out and throw for
an hour, an hour and a half
against a concrete wall by
myself three nights a week,”
he said. “That’s the kind of
dedication it takes to be
successful.”
Drotzmann said the sport
helps him destress from his
day-to-day, as mayor of
Hermiston and at Lifetime
Vision Source, where he is
an optometrist.
“I get to hang out and
be an average Joe, joking
around. It helps to make
me more level-headed,” he
said.
And while he does put in
hours of personal practice,
Drotzmann said he never
would have made it this far
without his teammates and
family.
“It’s not a one-man
sport,” he said. “I couldn’t
have done it without my
family or my teammates.”
Photo contributed by David Drotzmann
David Drotzmann was inducted into the North American Fastpitch Association Hall of Fame
last week.