Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark is a baseball stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.[4] The stadium, opened April 10, 2015, is the home of the West Virginia Mountaineers baseball team of West Virginia University (WVU), a member of the Big 12 Conference, and the West Virginia Black Bears, a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League.
Name Change
In March of 2024, West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, in conjunction with the WVU Foundation, announced a generous gift from Ken Kendrick, Arizona Diamondbacks owner and WVU alumnus, supporter of the WVU Baseball program. This gift includes the renaming of Monongalia County Ballpark as the facility now will be known as Kendrick Family Ballpark at the Monongalia County Baseball Complex. [5]
Construction
Plans were announced to build a new stadium for the West Virginia Mountaineers baseball team in 2013.[6] Ground was broken for the new ballpark at University Town Centre, an off-campus shopping and entertainment complex in Granville, adjacent to WVU's home city of Morgantown, on October 17, 2013. The ballpark has 2,500 fixed seats with additional hillside and club seating, a fan amenity deck, and a park that is open year-round.[7] The field has a synthetic surface, other than the clay pitcher's mound.[8]
In August 2014, the Jamestown Jammers of the Class A Short Season New York–Penn League, a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball, announced that they would move to West Virginia, taking the name "West Virginia Black Bears", and use Monongalia County Ballpark as their home stadium.[9][10] The Black Bears were affiliated with the Pirates from their inception until MLB's reorganization of the minors after the 2020 season. They then became a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League.[11]
As a result of inclement weather in February 2015, the scheduled opening of the stadium was pushed back to April 10, 2015.[12][13]
Largest Crowds
Here are the top ten largest crowds of all time at Kendrick Family Ballpark. [14]
| Rank | Attendance | Date | Game result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4,614 | Apr 16, 2024 | #22 West Virginia 6 Pittsburgh 3 |
| 2 | 4,387 | May 6, 2023 | #12 West Virginia 3 Oklahoma 6 |
| 3 | 4,355 | May 31, 2019 | #13 West Virginia 6 Fordham 2 |
| 4 | 4,258 | Jun 1, 2019 | #13 West Virginia 0 Duke 4 |
| 5 | 4,223 | Apr 27, 2024 | West Virginia 5 Baylor 2 |
| 6 | 4,070 | May 3, 2023 | #12 West Virginia 10 Pitt 0 |
| 7 | 3,913 | Apr 13, 2024 | West Virginia 7 #17 UCF 5 |
| 8 | 3,788 | Jun 2, 2019 | #13 West Virginia 10 #17 Texas A&M 11 |
| 9 | 3,712 | Apr 26, 2024 | West Virginia 18 Baylor 5 |
| 10 | 3,494 | Apr 13, 2019 | West Virginia 4 #11 Texas Tech 3 |
Milestones
| Achievement | Record |
|---|---|
| Largest Attendance | 4,614
April 26, 2024, vs. Pittsburgh[15] |
| Overall Record in Facility | 153-76. (.668)* |
| Big 12 Record in Facility | 64-50 (.561)* |
| Record vs. Ranked Opponents | 19-21 (.475)* |
| Record vs. State Opponents | 10-0 (1.000)* |
| 1st Game | (April 10, 2015 vs. Butler) |
| 1st Win | 6-5 (13 innings) (April 10, 2015 vs. Butler) |
| 1st Big 12 Win | 6-5 (April 18, 2015 vs. #23 Oklahoma) |
| 1st Win over Ranked Team | 6-5 (April 18, 2015 vs. #23 Oklahoma) |
| 1st Regional Hosted | May 31, 2019, vs. Fordham |
| *As of the March 25, 2025 | |
Awards
• Best short season Single A ballpark in the country according to BallparkDigest.com in 2015.[16]
• Ballpark of the Year in 2015 according to BaseballParks.com [17]
See also
References
- ^ https://wvusports.com/facilities/monongalia-county-ballpark/11
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ https://www.dlaplus.com/pages/monongalia-county-ballpark
- ^ https://wvusports.com/facilities/kendrick-family-ballpark-at-the-monongalia-county-baseball-complex/11
- ^ https://wvusports.com/news/2024/3/7/baseball-facility-renamed-kendrick-family-ballpark.aspx
- ^ "WVU Board Approves Land Buy for Baseball Stadium". WBOY. Morgantown. Associated Press. June 6, 2013. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ "New Ballpark". West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
- ^ Dovey, Grant (August 21, 2014). "New Ballpark Construction Update". West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
- ^ Vingle, Mitch (August 23, 2014). "Morgantown Lands NY-Penn League Baseball Team". The Charleston Gazette. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
- ^ "New NYPL club to be called the Black Bears". Minor League Baseball. October 22, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
- ^ "Black Bears retain affiliation with MLB, are founding member of Major League Baseball Draft League". West Virginia Black Bears. Minor League Baseball. November 20, 2020. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
- ^ Fragale, Michael (March 5, 2015). "Inclement Weather Delays Scheduled WVU Ballpark Opening". West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ^ Cassazza, Mike (April 9, 2015). "Wind, Outfield Walls Among Quirks of Monongalia County Ballpark". Charleston Daily Mail. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
- ^ https://wvusports.com/facilities/kendrick-family-ballpark-at-the-monongalia-county-baseball-complex/11
- ^ Dovey, Grant (April 10, 2015). "Baseball Opens New Ballpark with Walk-off Win". West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ^ Fitzsimmons, Jack (27 June 2015). "Monongalia County Ballpark Voted the Best in Short-Season Single A". WBOY. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ https://wvusports.com/facilities/kendrick-family-ballpark-at-the-monongalia-county-baseball-complex/11