CONWAY -- Neil Groat treasures the fact that the American Legion Mid-South Regional baseball tournament will be held on the Hendrix College campus.
For Groat, who just completed his third year as the Warriors' head baseball coach, it's an opportunity for approximately 160 teenagers to view the school's facilities, a recruiting tool that does not come along very often for a small college.
"For me, it's wonderful because it's going to bring 17- to 19-year-old kids to our campus," Groat said. "It provides exposure for our school and it's a tremendous thing economically for the city of Conway."
The eight-team double elimination tournament is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. The championship game is scheduled to be played Sunday, and the winner will advance to the American Legion World Series in Shelby, N.C.
Arkansas will be represented by state champion Bryant, which advanced to the regional championship game a year ago, and by host Conway. Hendrix is also scheduled to host the 2016 Mid-South Regional.
Hendrix College has steadily upgraded its athletic programs and facilities in the past decade, including the building of Warrior Field in 2007.
The Warriors' home field is spacious for outfielders and cozy for fans.
Spectators will have an up close view of the batters. There is less than 20 feet from home plate to the backstop, leaving little chance that batters will foul out to the catcher. The park was also not designed for home runs. The field measures 325 feet down the line, 400 to center field and 375 to left-center and right-center.
"It's very pitcher-friendly," Groat said. "You'll see significantly more triples than home runs."
Recruiting players to Hendrix is not an easy sell. As an NCAA Division III member of the Southern Athletic Association, there are no athletic scholarships. Of the 22 players listed on the 2016 Hendrix baseball roster, 19 are from states other than Arkansas.
"The biggest hurdle that any of us really deal with in recruiting is getting somebody, especially from a little further away, to wrap their head around that they are going to go to school in Conway, Ark.," Groat said. "People really don't have a reason to go to Arkansas. People go to Florida. People go to California. But unless somebody does business with Wal-Mart, or for some other odd reason, people really don't come here. Our challenge is to get somebody to get on a plane, come here and spend a few days."
"Once they see what we have to offer ... they realize it can be a wonderful place to spend the next four years."
Prospective Hendrix players must also be academic-minded.
"We've got to go to a coach and say, 'Tell me who's smart,' " Groat said. "After that, we may have to lop off 75 percent of their roster and that's fine. But when you find those kids who are really smart, they can get a terrific education."
Groat, 32, has been at Hendrix since his freshman year at the school. Hailing from Crystal Lake, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, Groat said he first visited Hendrix on a 55-degree day in February.
"Everyone was apologizing to me about the weather," said Groat, who was an assistant coach for seven years prior to being named the head coach. "But to me, it was great. When they start the [major league] season in Chicago, it's normally around 45 degrees in April. ... When I made my visit, I realized it was warm and it was a good school. That was all I needed."
Groat said Legion fans may have to deal with some space issues this week. Warrior Field has less than 370 chairback seats and the four-foot fence around the foul lines makes it difficult to watch the game from a lawn chair. But Groat said he is hopeful the tournament will be a success.
"[The tournament] is bringing teams that are going to stay at our hotels, eat in our restaurants and hopefully, the parents will shop during the off times," Groat said. "It seems like a big win for everyone, especially for Hendrix and Conway."
Sports on 08/04/2015