Rainouts and relocations will be less of an issue at Park Hill South after it officially opened its upgraded softball field on Aug. 31.
District officials joined representatives from Newkirk Construction and Hollis + Miller Architects, who were on site to oversee the ribbon-cutting ceremony before Park Hill South’s season opener against Staley.
The field has a brand-new artificial turf infield and outfield, highlighted by a Panther logo in center field. The left field fence features banners honoring the program’s conference and district championships, alongside banners for the program’s 12 all-state honorees.
“These projects take a lot of work,” said Daryl Terwilleger, school board vice president. “The biggest one is from our community. Our community supporting our student-athletes is amazing. We feel like they can do amazing work and play well in these great new facilities.”
The field upgrades were passed in April 2025 as part of propositions in the GO Park Hill initiative. A similar project is underway for Park Hill South’s baseball field, which will be ready for the spring season.
“I’d just like to say thank you,” head softball coach Josh Walker said. “For a guy who’s been here since we were playing softball at the field up there, it is wonderful to have these facilities. We got the lights a few years ago, now we have turf so we can play in just about any weather.”
Olivia Kinsey, right, delivered the first pitch to Jolie Jones, left, to open Park Hill South’s new field.
Olivia Kinsey, who was named Missouri’s Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior in 2015-16, was on hand to throw out the first pitch to her cousin, sophomore pitcher Jolie Jones. Kinsey was a member of the design team as a softball alumna.
It was all Staley early on in the contest, scoring six runs in the first inning and another in the second. The Falcons used a seven-run third inning to expand their lead to 14-0.
Sophomore catcher Maci Blake drove in Park Hill South’s first two runs of the season on a single to center field.
The Panthers answered in the bottom of the third when Maci Blake hit a two-RBI single to center field, followed by Kinsey Haley driving in a third run with a sacrifice fly to right field. Both teams went scoreless in the following two innings as South fell to a 14-3 defeat.
Park Hill South opened the season on a six-game losing streak before finishing the Paige Neal/Christina Freeman Softball Invitational with a pair of wins on Sept. 5, defeating Joplin 6-4 and using extra innings to walk off Carthage 9-8. The win over Carthage was Walker’s 300th career win as the program’s softball coach.
Plenty of opportunities remain to watch softball on the new field, with Park Hill South hosting seven more games throughout the next month.