For a number of reasons, IVCC has decided to switch its home baseball field.

Next season, the Eagles will play at Veterans Park in Peru, moving from Gandolfi Field in Oglesby.

“When the Pistol Shrimp came in, it really added an element that was beneficial to our players,” IVCC athletic director Cory Tomasson said. “We had an opportunity where at the end of the season some of our players were able to stick around and start the season with the Pistol Shrimp because many of their players were not done with school, so they needed to fill out the roster. It was a great opportunity for some of our players to get some experience playing with many Division I, D-II, NAIA, as well as some junior college players. It also gave them some contact with coaches from that league. Scouts come to see those games. It was really beneficial for them to have the opportunity to build those relationships.”

Another reason is potential scheduling conflicts with La Salle-Peru and Oglesby Junior League also using the field.

“Competition for field scheduling didn’t happen last year because the high school season was pushed back, so we didn’t have many conflicts,” Tomasson said. “But going into next year we can see where there may be some issues as far as scheduling, rescheduling. We didn’t want that to become an issue trying to schedule makeup games at the end of our season when we’re trying to get into the postseason.”

Tomasson stressed the move was based on what Veterans Park offered.

“We’ve had a great relationship with Oglesby,” Tomasson said. “There was nothing wrong. They took great care of us over the years. The college has many other partnerships we want to continue with them academically, socially and community service-wise, but for baseball we see this as an opportunity for our student-athletes to really benefit, and that’s where our focus really needs to be.”