LOUISVILLE, Ohio — News 5 continues to Follow-Through on the stories impacting your community.
When others leave—we return.
That's the case in Louisville.
News 5 was there as the community came together to overhaul and upgrade an old ballpark back in March of 2023.
RELATED: Louisville, Ohio community comes together to upgrade baseball field for area kids
More than a year later—they're back in action and building another field.
Officials say it's the true story of neighbors supporting neighbors.
They say there is such a clear demand and need for this ballpark and interest continues to grow from area children.
This will now allow even more kids to get off their phones, get outside and play ball.
They credit the community and Home Depot for their generosity and support.
"I love playing, and this is the best place to play," Parker Bartlett of Louisville said.
Parker says the baseball field behind the Sacred Heart of Mary Church has become a second home for him and his buddies.
It's where they can practice their batting and perfect their pitching.
They're doing it in hopes of hitting home runs all day long.
"It's amazing! It's just nice to have somewhere to play," Parker said.
Thanks to some local Dads and through a $13,000 grant from Home Depot's "Team Depot Foundation," they brought the field to life in March 2023.
The kids finally had a place to play.
Fast forward to June of 2024, the iconic movie phrase from Field of Dreams "If you build it, they will come," has taken on a literal meaning here.
Another new, sprawling baseball field is in the works.
Home Depot green-lit efforts, and the Home Depot Foundation and staffers from Team Depot awarded a $25,000 grant for work on the second, larger field.
Our cameras were rolling as a small army of parents, volunteers and local companies gave back and got to work.
"An excavating company donated a ton of field dirt. This is about a foot lower than what it was, what we're standing on now," Paul Riemenschneider, Home Depot Territory Install Manager, said.
"I just raked and helped and got the rocks out of the field and stuff," Parker said.
Crews from Nichols Fence out of Akron measured and carefully installed the 300-foot fence around the field.
It can now accommodate travel and high school teams for years to come.
"They put it all together, and it's here and it's amazing," Diennia Hall, Operations Manager with Nichols Fence, said.
The need for more space for local athletes was apparent as the youth baseball organizations exploded in popularity.
"Expansion, I would say. The Ohio Gators Association had one team over there. Now they have 8U, 9U and 10U," Riemenschneider said.
Riemenschneider says this latest project shows the strength and generosity of the community.
He couldn't be more proud of this labor of love.
"It's a tight knit group. Definitely from what I've seen. Everyone looks out for each other. They love each other and always looking out for each other," Riemenschneider said.
"We just hope the kids enjoy it and it's here for a very long time," Hall said.
"It just says a lot. Says that we're willing to do the work," Parker said.
The field is ready for late summer and fall ball.
They say it was so great to see the community come together because some parents brought their Bobcats out here to push the dirt out.
Local restaurants gave free food.
We will continue to track the progress of this field and future community projects.
If there's a story you want us to Follow-Through on—shoot an an e-mail to mike.holden@wews.com.
Put We-Follow-Through in the subject.
For more information on the Home Depot Foundation's Team Depot, click here.
