The Earlham College varsity baseball and softball programs began the 2024-25 academic year with a new indoor practice and training facility that rivals many of the nation’s top intercollegiate programs.
Many NCAA Division I schools can’t say they have an indoor training facility of this caliber.
-Steve Sakosits, head baseball coach and senior athletic director
Construction of the Bud McCollum-Earlham College Baseball Hitting and Pitching Lab finished in summer 2024 with usage ramping up in the winter months. The facility measures 80-by-104 feet and has six lanes that can be customized for pitching, batting, fielding and footwork drills.
“Many NCAA Division I schools can’t say they have an indoor training facility of this caliber,” said Steve Sakosits, Earlham’s head baseball coach and senior associate athletic director. “Not only will it provide a year-round facility to support the development of our players, but it will help us recruit a better student-athlete at the Division III level.”
The new training facility is the result of a major gift from Randy Sadler ’73 and Melissa Sadler, and additional support from Charlie and Esther Krieger and proceeds from a fundraising campaign led by the baseball program. The facility is named after Bud McCollum ’72, Randy Sadler’s former teammate.