It’s officially called the Lady Warrior Field but for the Warrior softball team that will inhabit it for the fall season, the field might as well be called a “Field of Dreams.”

What had long been dreamt of took place on Friday, March 21. That was the day of the inauguration of the brand-new softball facility at North Atlanta High School.

To start things off, an assortment of Warrior softball players joined with the Warrior JV baseball team to pay a first-ever game in the facility. After splitting into two co-ed teams, a spirited game of slow-pitch softball ensued. The ceremonial first pitch for that game – and the facility – took place at 4:30 p.m. and was thrown by Michelle Reese, a 2008 North Atlanta graduate and a former Warrior softball team member. Reese was joined Angela Rucker, former Warrior softball coach, along with other past Warrior softball alumni. Returning athletes included Aubrey Carter (2013), Samantha Lunsford (2012), and Juanna Koen (2011) and Shekinah Lewis (2009).

Prior to the game’s start, a ceremonial ribbon was cut by Gene Taylor, NAHS principal, and Hannah Wallis, a junior and a softball team co-captain.

The Warrior softball team has never had a dedicated home field designed with softball dimensions. At the old NAHS campus, Warrior softball players played on a baseball diamond. During last fall’s season, the team had to travel back to the old NAHS campus to play “home” games that did not exactly suit their game.

At the inaugural game, Warrior athletes and their coaches expressed enthusiasm about having a gleaming new facility specifically designed for softball. “We’ve just never had this before and when we all look around at this beautiful field, we really can say there’s no place like home,” said Lisa Oglesby, Warrior softball head coach.