THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: New nest, filled will new flavor

There's a buzz about the North Idaho College softball team right now.

No, it's not about the Northwest Athletic Conference championships, though the Cardinals won back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019 — the last time the NWAC held softball championships due to the coronavirus pandemic.

All it took was coming home.

AFTER RENOVATIONS that began in 2016 to Memorial Field, located across from City Park and less than a mile from campus, NIC finally returned to its longtime home field on Tuesday, beating the Community Colleges of Spokane 25-16.

“It’s super exciting,” said NIC coach Shay Fuson following Thursday’s game against NCAA Division II Humboldt State, which was played under sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 60s. “It’s a fun place to play with the atmosphere and environment. Especially on a day like this, you can’t get any better than this. It’s classic Memorial softball weather. It’s just really exciting. I like the vibe of the stands, and it’s louder here than it’s ever been. The atmosphere in the dugout, it’s cool to have the fans right on top of us. Other than that, it’s the same Memorial Field and same traditions.”

NIC assistant coach Laura Tolzmann played on the first NIC softball team in 1998.

“I think this field is part of Coeur d’Alene as far as softball goes,” Tolzmann said. “Whether it’s college level, slowpitch, coed or men’s league. It’s such an awesome, central place where people love to come and watch live games. With the stadium being rebuilt, it’s ours now. We’ve finally got a home spot. And the fans love that they’re right close by and they can see the game and feel like they’re in it.”

Renovations included moving the first-base line along the new-look grandstands, which used to be directly behind home plate. Field dimensions remained the same. The scoreboard is now located slightly left of dead center, as opposed to in straightaway right, because the field moved — the scoreboard stayed in place.

"When I first played here, the infield was hard as a rock," said Tolzmann, who played second base and shortstop at NIC after playing high school ball at Coeur d'Alene and Lake City, then later coached Lake City to a pair of state titles. "Us infielders, we really didn't like to get a lot of ground balls because we didn't know which way the ball was going to bounce. The city spent many, many hours working on the dirt for this field. It's really nice to have something we've put so much work into. It's just awesome."

From the pitcher's circle, instead of looking into the grandstands, you can now see the lake and Museum of North Idaho.

“I think it’s awesome when you’re on the pitcher’s mound honestly, because I played shortstop and second base on the old field,” Tolzmann said. “Back then, where home plate is you just could look out at the neighborhood. As a player on defense, now you can see the lake, and it’s just an awesome view honestly. It’s nice to see the lake — that’s why we love this place — and why we live here. For visiting teams, it’s awesome for them to see. I think it will be really nice for kids coming in. I don’t know of many softball fields that have an awesome grandstand like this.”

“You feel the energy in the dugout whereas before we were a little more off to the side,” Fuson said. “It’s definitely louder and more exciting for sure.”

WHILE MEMORIAL was being renovated, NIC played its home games at Lake City High (2017), then at Post Falls High (2018 and 2019).

“I was pretty optimistic that we’d get back here eventually,” said Fuson, who played at Memorial while at NIC in 2007 and 2008.

“It did take a few years, but I knew we’d get back here. I’m just happy that I’m still here when we came back. I saw it get torn down, and then built back up. It’s a fun transition to be a part of.”

Tolzmann, who went 219-55 in 10 years as Lake City coach from 2005 to 2014, has been an assistant at NIC for the past four years.

“Sometimes it felt like seven or eight years because it was taking so long for us to finally say, this is our home field,” Tolzmann said. “I think we only got to practice one or two times here when (star pitcher) Madi Mott was here a few years ago. They were excited about what their field could have been. I’m super happy for these kids. This is it. This is where we keep the tradition going. We just need to get some banners up.”

Fuson was an assistant coach with Don Don Williams, who started the program in 1998, for six years from 2013 to 2018. She returned to coaching in 2019 when Williams was named the head coach at Southern Utah of the Big Sky Conference.

“I was pretty optimistic that we’d get back here eventually,” Fuson said. “It did take a few years, but I knew we’d get back here. I’m just happy that I’m still here when we came back. I saw it get torn down, and then built back up. It’s a fun transition to be a part of.”

WITH SPRING break for NIC students and most high schools in the area, foot traffic has increased around the field.

"It's been great because a lot of community people that are out walking their dogs or in the park," Tolzmann said. "They're coming up to the fence and asking when the next home game is and coming out to watch, which has been great."

"The atmosphere is definitely different," Fuson said. "Having the carousel and park is bringing more fans to the game that weren't there before. Before, the field was off to the side and you had to go around. Now, we're getting the walkers and those that are curious about what's going on. And it's been good for our program."

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.