Tuesday, August 25, 2026
photos by Alexandra Butler, photographer/photo editor, except as credited
On Friday afternoon, Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field was filled with the sights and sounds of preparation as the Little League Classic, a game between the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers, approached. Sound systems were checked, lighting and larger-than-life scoreboard systems were tested, new fencing was installed – and nearly two dozen Wildcat softball players prepared to become perhaps the first ever all-female tarp crew – the team responsible for covering the infield to protect it from rain – for a Major League game.
“I think they are the first,” said Murray Cook, MLB field and stadium consultant and president of the sports turf division for BrightView Landscapes. Cook’s team prepares non-MLB fields for special Major League events like the Little League Classic and frequently trains volunteer tarp crews at those locations. According to his research, the softball team’s only all-woman predecessors may have worked in the late 1940s during All-American Girls Professional Baseball League games – but that’s not a stat that was recorded.
Penn College softball players get their first try at pulling the tarp across the infield during a Friday afternoon practice session at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. The ballpark, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, is the home of the Williamsport Crosscutters, members of the Major League Draft League, and was outfitted for the Little League Classic, an MLB matchup between the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers.
“We’re excited to have them here,” said Cook, who has worked in more than 60 ballparks for Major League Baseball over the past 36 years.
On Friday afternoon, Cook’s team taught the softball players their first lessons. Communication, they were told, was key to doing the job safely and professionally.
“Everybody’s got a specific job to do on the tarp, so it’s a whole team effort,” Cook said.
From the basics they advanced to working on their speed. Their target: under 2 minutes.
“They have to get the tarp out rapidly enough to save the game,” Cook said, emphasizing the importance of each team member’s role.
The team returned to Bowman at 8 a.m. Saturday for a six-hour stint, and they showed up well before the game on Sunday to cover the field as needed. And needed, they were, as showers passed through the area twice Sunday before gametime.
In return for their critical work, the team got the best seats in the house – on the ground level on the first-base line – to watch the Braves and Brewers – both No. 1 in their divisions. (Atlanta won 4-2.)
“It was our first outing as a full team, so it gave us a chance to get to know each other and work as a team for the first time ahead of our season,” said junior catcher Payton M. Crawford, a welding and fabrication engineering technology student from Bloomsburg. “Being a part of the MLB Classic Tarp Crew showed us how to communicate with our teammates, and hopefully it showed the new members of our program our expectation that when we work as a team we can accomplish anything, and that is a big part of our program.”
The Penn College softball team had 34 wins in Spring 2026 and represented the United East Conference in the NCAA Division III Regionals.
First-year students, just a week into the academic year, mix with veteran players. From left: Arianna Pickell, a pre-radiography student from Douglassville; Teagan M. Richter, a human services & restorative justice student from Shamokin Dam; Alivia A. Bizzarri, a nursing student from Philipsburg; Payton M. Crawford, a welding & fabrication engineering technology student from Bloomsburg; and Ashlyn L. Robinson, an emergency management & homeland security student from Linden.
The team pulls the field tarp while, in the background, a giant scoreboard is tested.
Murray Cook, president of Brighview Landscapes’ Sports Turf Division, provides instruction.
Re-rolling the tarp to start over again.
Showing their excitement: (From left) Mackenzi M. Tice, of Mansfield, nursing; Alexandria R. McDougall, of Fallston, Maryland, biomedical sciences; Laney R. Wilson, of Doylestown, pre-dental hygiene; and Emma Vollman, of Williamsport, nursing.
Team members coordinate to pull the tarp at the same pace.
After two long practice sessions, Penn College’s softball team gets ready for game day. They are joined by head coach Amber Savage (standing third from left) and BrightView staff. Photo by Eric D. Hunt, coordinator of athletic communications and club sports
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