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SKOWHEGAN — Don’t tell the Skowhegan baseball team this isn’t the real thing. After 1,054 days, this exhibition game was as real to the River Hawks as any official one could ever be.

This felt like April. Wind engulfed the River Hawks’ new field behind the Skowhegan Community Center and rain intensified throughout the game, with the sound of peepers off in the distance. In the dugout, the team was as loud as it might have been had this been a championship, as Skowhegan scored run after run.

The River Hawks, who played their 2024 and 2025 home games at Madison Area Memorial High School, once again have a ballpark of their own to call home, one they played on for the first time Tuesday against Oceanside. 

“I came down here to the field today, and it just put a huge smile on my face,” said Skowhegan senior Nathan Wills. “The whole team’s spirit walking over here was just great because we were so wicked excited to be able to have this chance to play on our field for the first time.”

Skowhegan’s last game on a field of its own was May 26, 2023, in its regular-season finale against Brunswick. Shortly after the season, the Memorial Field complex that included the baseball field and tennis courts was torn down so construction could begin on the town’s new elementary school.

What followed was two years of local angst, much of it off the field. Meetings regarding the field’s future turned testy; a bid was not awarded for its construction until September 2024; construction was largely completed last fall, but even as recently as last week, the team had not received formal approval, as a few minor items remained.

“We found out yesterday that we’d be able to play on this field, and I was surprised, but when I came over here, I saw that it looked great,” said second-year Skowhegan coach Peter Kirby. “The Skowhegan Rec Center did a great job getting it ready, and we’re so thankful and so excited to be able to play here.”

Not having a field was a headache for the River Hawks. The only options for home practices were indoors or at the junior high field. Otherwise, the team had to practice and play its games at Madison, which created a scheduling conundrum, as that facility had to accommodate two high school teams.

“We had four legit practices outside all year (last year), and some of those were at the junior high,” Kirby said. “It was almost not even fair; we didn’t have a chance to really go over stuff. … A lot of it was the weather, but it was also not having a field, and when we did, we were rushed off it or had to go later because someone was on it before.”

With those worries now things of the past, the energy Tuesdayat the new facility was palpable. The Skowhegan dugout never ceased in its boisterousness throughout the game, a 12-2 mercy-rule victory. 

That energy, Kirby said, is something that’s to be expected all year. The River Hawks want to make sure the first season on their new field is a good one.

“I haven’t played on my home field since my freshman year — we’ve been all on the road — so it’s amazing,” said Skowhegan senior Trevor Austin. “We went from not knowing what our field was going to be last year to now being able to come over right here after school and get to work. It’s awesome.”

The final touches to the field will be a scoreboard and bleachers, the latter of which are expected in time for next Tuesday’s regular-season opener against Brunswick. A grand opening is planned, with assistant coach Steve Mayo throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

“Playing away for the past two years was tough, so it really means more than anything to us to be able to play here,” said Skowhegan senior Jack Fitzpatrick. “There’s nothing like having your own home field.”