Athletics - Franklin Pierce University

Dr. Arthur and
Martha Pappas Field
Home of Franklin Pierce Baseball

In the spring of 2005, the Franklin Pierce baseball program went from playing at a facility near or at the bottom of the Northeast-10 Conference to calling its home the best on-campus facility in the NE-10, but also the entire Northeast Region, when the Ravens opened play at Dr. Arthur & Martha Pappas Field on April 7, 2005, with an 8-3 victory over Bentley College.

Dr. Pappas is considered by many to be a pioneer in the field of sports medicine. As medical director for the Boston Red Sox for more than twenty years, his expertise is well known. He served at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center for more than twenty-five years and is the founding Chair of the Department of Orthopedics and Physical Rehabilitation.

Dr. Pappas Field could also be considered a pioneer in terms of baseball-only facilities in the Northeast as the EdelGrass surface facility is the first of its kind in the United States. An in-fill artificial field, Dr. Pappas Field provides the program with a facility better suited to handle the inclement weather which is common in the Northeast during the spring months.

Dr. Pappas Field also has two permanent dugouts, permanent seating for 1,500 fans, including 150 stadium seats behind home plate, as well as a state-of-the-art pressbox.

During the spring of 2007, lights were added to the facility, making it the first lighted on-campus baseball facility in the State of New Hampshire and one of just two lighted home fields in the Northeast-10 Conference. A record crowd of 1,000 witnessed the inaugural home night game on April 20, 2007, as Franklin Pierce edged in-state rivals Southern New Hampshire University, 3-2. The first official night game actually occured 11 days prior for game two of a Ravens doubleheader sweep of Merrimack College on April 9.

Dr. Pappas Field has already served as host site for some prestigious events in just a short time. Franklin Pierce has hosted the 2005, 2006 and 2007 NCAA Division II Northeast Regional Championships. The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association staged the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the 2007 Class M Baseball Tournament at Dr. Pappas Field. The facility has also given local high school and summer baseball programs an alternate site when their regular fields are unplayable because of the weather.

Dr. Pappas Field was host of what is believed to be the earliest outdoor baseball game in New Hampshire history when Franklin Pierce hosted Post University for a four-game weekend series March 4-5, 2006. Air temp for game one on March 4 was 33-degrees with wind chills in the mid-low 20's.

Pappas Field Photo Gallery