Saturday was a big day for Athens Bible School Trojans as they dedicated their new baseball field and played their inaugural game against Lexington High School Golden Bears. The ceremonies began with President Robert Fudge with welcome remarks and what this day meant to the school.

“Robert has a long history with the school. Actually, his history as a student ended a year before Athens Bible School even had a baseball team,” said ABS Teacher Bobby Graham.

After Fudge, Joel Hamm was introduced to recognize sponsors and patrons who supported the field effort.

“Athens Bible School has had a baseball team since 1968, and now, we have a new ball field to go with the Persell Campus. We used Tanner High School’s field as our home field last year and played many visitor road games. We now look forward to playing at home,” said Hamm.

The baseball field is the first phase of the athletic area for ABS.

“Having the new facility is part of the vision of the ABS board. While we focus on academics, we have goals for athletics, too. We have plans to finish the softball field soon along with youth fields, tennis courts, and a walking/running track. We have a great tradition when it comes to sports and having nice facilities to go along with that is a wonderful thing,” said Principal Chris Duke.

Before the game, the ceremonial first pitch was thrown by long-time baseball coach and athletic director Bill Murrell to his grandson, Luke Murrell.

“It was a very heartwarming scene. One that was especially heartwarming to a lot of us who have been with the school for a long time,” said Graham.

Lexington held ABS scoreless until the 6th inning. At the bottom of the 6th, ABS’s Walker Brand was able to take first base on a walk followed by Ben Leopard who hit a single and a hit from Zach Bath loaded the bases. A hit by A.J. Bradford and an error by Lexington’s Eli Pope allowed Walker Brand to score before the inning ended giving ABS their only score of the game. For Lexington, Collins Hicks led Lexington with two hits at two at bats. The Golden Bears won 9-1.

The team ABS faced on this special day recently won the area championship and are highly ranked in the state.

“Lexington is the 5th ranked team in 2A, so we played a very good team today,” said Hamm.