On March 11, 2008,
the home of the University of North Alabama baseball team got a
new name as the facility, long known as University Field, was
renamed Mike D. Lane Field in honor of the Lions’ longtime
baseball coach.
Lane, who later
retired following the 2008 season, guided UNA to 25 straight
winning seasons, won 908 games at UNA and averaged 36 wins per
year from 1984 to 2008.
A huge part of UNA’s overall success under Lane was built on a
tremendous home field advantage. The Lions had a 571-156-4
record at home under Lane for a 78 percent winning percentage.
In Lane’s 25 years at the school, UNA won 20 or more home games
20 times, including the last eight years in a row.
The most recent
renovation to the stadium, which was completed midway through
the 2008 season, included new grandstands, ticket booth,
restrooms and entrance way.
In 1999 the Lions won both the Gulf South Conference and NCAA
Division II South Central Regional Tournament championships on
their home field and went 32-5 at home.
Those impressive
records at home were crucial in Lane’s ability to turn the
Lions’ program into one of the most consistent winners in the
country.
The Lions
participated in the NCAA playoffs ten times under Lane.
In 1989, UNA
hosted its first NCAA baseball event and drew record crowds to
University Field to watch three Gulf South Conference schools -
UNA, Jacksonville State and Delta State - battle for the
regional crown . In 1995 UNA hosted its second regional, which
was again an All-GSC affair with UNA, Delta State and Valdosta
State, and in 1997 UNA hosted Elon and Central Oklahoma in the
South Central Regional. In 1999 UNA hosted its fourth regional
that included Alabama-Huntsville, Delta State and Southeastern
Oklahoma State.
UNA struggled to
go 11-7 at home in 1984 but won the first GSC baseball
championship in school history on the field with a sweep of
Mississippi College in the championship round.
That record has
been followed by numerous impressive marks, including 20 seasons
with 20 or more home wins.
Night baseball
also began at University Field in 1990, and UNA went 9-1 in home
night games that season, including a 6-2 win over Division I
power Middle Tennessee State in the dedication game on April 5.
The Lions also
have a full tarp which has prevented several rain-outs over the
years, and the new ultra- modern scoreboard and expanded
grand-stand have enhanced Lion games for the fans.
UNA baseball has
come a long way in the last 26 seasons, and Mike D. Lane Field
is a reflection of those changes.
It is now among the top facilities in Division II baseball.
Last season, in the school’s first season with Mike Keehn as
head coach, the Lions went 24-12 at home.
That extended
UNA’s streak to nine straight seasons with 20 or more home wins.
Mike D. Lane Field Dimensions
330 - Left field
line
365 - Left field alley
410 - Left center
385 - Center
410 - Right center
360 - Right field alley
320 - Right field line
Lions at Mike Lane Field since 1984
1984 11-7-0
1985 19-3-0
1986 21-4-0
1987 21-2-1
1988 15-8-1
1989 24-6-0
1990 24-3-0
1991 20-3-0
1992 23-6-0
1993 17-4-0
1994 26-7-2
1995 27-9-0
1996 27-4-0
1997 30-10-0
1998 24-4-0
1999 32-5-0
2000 19-4-0
2001 21-9
2002 26-5
2003 26-10
2004 26-9
2005 20-10
2006 25-5
2007 22-10
2008 25-9
2008 24-12
Total 595-168-4
| |
|
|
Click on Pictures Below for Larger Image |
|
