Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field
Home of Franklin Pierce University Baseball
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In the spring of 2005, the Franklin
Pierce baseball program went from playing at a facility near or
at the bottom of the Northeast-10 Conference to calling its home
the best on-campus facility in the NE-10, but also the entire
Northeast Region, when the Ravens opened play at Dr. Arthur &
Martha Pappas Field on April 7, 2005, with an 8-3 victory over
Bentley College.
Dr. Pappas is considered by many to be a pioneer in the field of
sports medicine. As medical director for the Boston Red Sox for
more than twenty years, his expertise is well known. He served at
the University of Massachusetts Medical Center for more than
twenty-five years and is the founding Chair of the Department of
Orthopedics and Physical Rehabilitation.
Dr. Pappas Field could also be considered a pioneer in terms of
baseball-only facilities in the Northeast as the EdelGrass surface
facility is the first of its kind in the United States. An in-fill
artificial field, Dr. Pappas Field provides the program with a
facility better suited to handle the inclement weather which is
common in the Northeast during the spring months.
Dr. Pappas Field also has two permanent dugouts, permanent seating
for 1,500 fans, including 150 stadium seats behind home plate, as
well as a state-of-the-art pressbox.
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During the spring of 2007, lights
were added to the facility, making it the first lighted on-campus
baseball facility in the State of New Hampshire and one of just two
lighted home fields in the Northeast-10 Conference. A record crowd
of 1,000 witnessed the inaugural home night game on April 20, 2007,
as Franklin Pierce edged in-state rivals Southern New Hampshire
University, 3-2. The first official night game actually occured 11
days prior for game two of a Ravens doubleheader sweep of Merrimack
College on April 9.
Dr. Pappas Field has already served as host site for some
prestigious events in just a short time. Franklin Pierce has hosted
the 2005, 2006 and 2007 NCAA Division II Northeast Regional
Championships. The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic
Association staged the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the
2007 Class M Baseball Tournament at Dr. Pappas Field. The facility
has also given local high school and summer baseball programs an
alternate site when their regular fields are unplayable because of
the weather.
Dr. Pappas Field was host of what is believed to be the earliest
outdoor baseball game in New Hampshire history when Franklin Pierce
hosted Post University for a four-game weekend series March 4-5,
2006. Air temp for game one on March 4 was 33-degrees with wind
chills in the mid-low 20's.















