Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, in partnership with Vermont Public
BENNINGTON — Off a gravel road, tucked between Mount Anthony Union High School and the local Marshalls, sits the Bennington Baseball Park.
It has three Little League fields, a concession stand, and a brand-new indoor baseball practice facility — complete with turf, pitching machines, and batting cages.
This spring marks the Bennington Little League’s first full season with the new practice space — a project built through donations from local businesses, volunteer labor from local tradespeople, and support from retired Major League pitcher Rick Porcello.
For league president Geoff Metcalfe, the new facility represents years of dreaming bigger for the 68-year-old organization.
“I never imagined in my lifetime we’d see something like this,” Metcalfe said. “In my mind, I was thinking, ‘Maybe we could build a little two-story thing with a batting cage above our old concession stand.’”
Then he met Porcello.
“He’s like, ‘You gotta think bigger.’ And I’m like, ‘We can’t afford to think bigger.’ And he’s like, ‘I’ll help.’”
The Bennington Little League was founded in 1958 by a group of local dads. After bouncing from field to field for a while, they came together to buy the land where the league still plays today.
Metcalfe joined the board in 2004 and became league president in 2009. An architect by trade, he has spent much of that time improving the facilities and turning the park into a community gathering place.
In 2013, the league installed lights on the youth fields. Another summer, Metcalfe helped build a concession stand that has become a destination in its own right.
“My grandparents are 93, and they come here three times a week to eat dinner at the concession stand because it’s the best dairy bar in town,” he said. “It’s awesome.”
On Friday and Saturday nights, families pack the stands for games under the lights.
“You should see this place on a Friday night when the night games are going,” Metcalfe said. “It’s just been very positive within the community.”
Metcalfe and other league leaders had thought about building an indoor practice facility for years, but Porcello made the project feel possible.
“Myself and another board member met with him here, and we told him about the program,” Metcalfe said. “And he was just the nicest human you’ll ever meet. We brought him here, and he was like, ‘Wow, this is awesome.’ He was all in. And he said, ‘Look, let’s do something together.’ And that’s what the catalyst for this was.”
With Porcello’s support, the broader Bennington community stepped up to help make the building happen.
“I can’t tell you, when we built these buildings, the number of tradespeople locally that donated time and gave to us,” Metcalfe said. “It’s been phenomenal. It’s a good community program, and people are very proud of it.”
The new indoor facility has already changed the rhythm of the season. Free batting and pitching clinics for registered players now begin in February, months before the first outdoor practice.
“These kids are getting seven or eight rotations in a pitching clinic with a good instructor before we even start practicing,” Metcalfe said. “Before, they were picking up the ball for the first time in April.”
Mike Becker, who has coached in Bennington for nearly a decade, said the additional practice time has made a noticeable difference.
“We’ve started earlier. Essentially, you’re never rained out,” Becker said. “We’re so much further ahead than where I usually would be, and I think that’s going to be a game changer in our community.”
The league now hosts 23 teams for boys ages 5 to 12. Registration costs $80 for the season — a deliberate choice, Metcalfe said, in a community where affordability matters.
“We don’t want it to be expensive,” he said. “We do not live in a wealthy community. And so we want to make it as affordable and reasonable for people as possible.”
The league also rents batting cages to travel teams and individuals for $30 an hour and the full facility for $100 an hour to help offset costs.
Still, Metcalfe said the league’s purpose extends beyond baseball.
“Whenever I have coaches meetings, it’s like, ‘All right, we’re here to make better humans.’ It’s about learning teamwork and sportsmanship and camaraderie, and you get that in sports, especially team sports, like you get in nothing else.”
For 13-year-old player Carter Becker, the Friday night games are the highlight of the season.
“Oh, I mean, it’s very thrilling when you’re out there,” he said. “And a lot of pressure, because there’s always a ton of people watching.”
His most memorable moment?
“I hit a walk-off double into the gap against the undefeated team,” Carter said. “They had probably the two best players in the league. Cooper was on the mound, and he threw me a fast one, and I hit it straight into the gap.”
Carter’s dad, coach Mike Becker, said the games under the lights feel special in a region where few youth fields have them.
“Every kid wants to pitch on a Friday night. It’s a really cool experience. And honestly, there’s not a ton of fields that have lights. You don’t get that experience everywhere”
Metcalfe remembers the night they first flipped the switch.
“The night we turned the lights on for the first time was pretty awesome,” he said. “We’re all on the field, and there were 150 people here. The kids were running the bases — that was a special moment for me.”
On Friday nights, the Bennington Little League might as well be in the big leagues.