Chris Prothro Baseball Camps
Turkey Hughes Field at Earle Combs Stadium
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- Originally built in the 1960s and named for legendary coach Charles “Turkey” Hughes, Turkey Hughes Field has been the site of 13 EKU OVC baseball championships. Located beside Alumni Coliseum, the field has dimensions of 330 ft. X 415 ft. X 340 ft.
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- In 2009, EKU invested more than a half million dollars on Turkey Hughes Field, adding a state-of-the-art synthetic turf infield that allows the Colonels to practice and play games in all conditions, a hitter's eye in center field and a brick wall backstop.
- Lights were added to the facility in the spring of 2014.
- A multi-million dollar renovation was completed in March 2017. The transforming renovations include new team dugouts and a climate controlled press box, which accommodates enhanced radio and video broadcasts. The new Turkey Hughes Field at Earle Combs Stadium has a new grandstand featuring a brick facade and more than 900 seats, including 429 chair back seats, along with handicap-accessible seating and a new concession area equipped with restrooms. An entry plaza for pregame gatherings was also added. A canopy provides coverage for fans in the stands, and improve the pitcher’s view of home plate.
- More additions are in progress. A new team locker room and indoor hitting facility along with banners celebrating the accomplishment of former and current Colonel student-athletes will be added in the coming months. The indoor hitting facility will provide the team with an area to practice during any weather conditions.
- The new stadium is named in honor of Hall of Famer Earle Combs. While a student at Eastern Kentucky, through persuasion of his friends and the students who saw him hit two home runs against the faculty in a practice game, he decided to go out for the Eastern team. He immediately became a member of the team and a hero to the students, slamming at least one home run in every game he played and compiling a .596 batting average that first year. Combs played for the New York Yankees from 1924-35, compiling a lifetime batting average of .325. He was the leadoff hitter for the great “Murderer’s Row” Yankee teams. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York, July 26, 1970.
