NATCHEZ — The Cathedral High baseball team got in a little recreational activity Friday when they worked on Chester Willis Field.

The team and some parents began preparing the outfield for the beginning of baseball season, which starts in three weeks.

“We’re trying to get as much done as we can now while the weather’s still good,” said coach Craig Beesley “The main thing today is getting the infield in playing shape — cleaning the mound and home plate and the infield and then adding dirt back where we’ve lost some over the summer.”

The team is removing grass from the base path and leveling the infield with tractors, adding clay bricks and dirt to the pitcher’s mound, and making sure the sprinkler system works properly.

At the same time, Adams County is using inmate workers to paint the the outfield fence and the brand new bathroom facilities that were added just two weeks ago.

This is in addition to the bleachers, which were replaced last year, and the new press box that was added.

“We’re going to actually have a good facility this year,” Beesley said. “We’re proud of it, and we appreciate the county for putting the money into it so it looks nice.”

Adams County Extension Director David Carter said the bathroom addition cost the county $9,000, but it was money well spent.

The bleacher and press box upgrades, along with painting the entire structure last year, ran approximately $40,000, but it was money the county had saved for the project.

“I think it was a health hazard as it was, with the bathroom and the concession stand backed up to each other,” Carter said. “The other bleachers were so old some of them had cracked and they had become a safety hazard. Our goal is hopefully, within the recreation things that are going on now, to continue to beautify that area.”

Both Natchez High and Trinity Episcopal also play their games at Willis Field, and Beesley said those schools will help out with preparations on other days.

He said Cathedral parents, including Bubba Kaiser, Duke Edwards, Travis Brown and Jody Foster, began work on the field around 9 a.m. Friday.

“We’ve done a lot more today in the few hours we’ve been here than I thought we’d get done all day,” he said. “The infield is something that needs to be done early so if we need to add dirt or conditioner to the field, we can get that in there for it to settle in with the rest of the field.”

Kaiser, whose son Adam plays baseball and football for the Green Wave, said he got to the field at 10:30 a.m. He also helps rake the field before games — the county cuts the grass.

He said it’s important to keep the field in shape because it’s one of the nicer baseball parks in the area.

“A little volunteer help makes things look nicer around here, and it saves the county money.”