Waterford — Katie Ogg Belliotti grew up playing softball, and she was good. Her dad was a coach for Oakland Community College, Oakland University and Rochester College. She ended up winning the national championship her senior year for Rochester, with her dad in the dugout.
Since then, the sport has been pulling her back in as a coach. Now it’s become part of her home.
That’s because Belliotti and her family recently bought a house with a full-size baseball diamond, complete with a scoreboard and dugout, right in the backyard.
Belliotti was working at a softball tournament when someone ran up to her and told her about a house with a baseball field that was for sale in Waterford, 10 minutes away from where she lived.
Her family needed a bigger home. Her husband, Andy, wanted more land. And she wanted a ball field.
“So this was a perfect spot,” he said.
Katie says the previous owners were accommodating on the price because she wanted to preserve the field in the back and restore it to its former glory for Waterford softball players.
Belliotti said Waterford schools and the Parks and Recreation Department charge fees to rent stadiums for softball games, which makes it hard to keep the sport affordable.
There’s a long history of community spirit at the baseball diamond, which is called Freehan Field. Belliotti says that it was created by a local police officer named Joe Humbaugh who saw there was no place nearby for kids to play ball.
He partnered with Detroit Tigers catcher Bill Freehan to build a diamond that many of Belliotti’s friends played at during their childhood.
Now, Belliotti is continuing the legacy of community service and sports in the suburbs. It’s a lot of work to maintain the field, and the Belliottis have their work cut out for them.
The grass needs to be cut regularly, the trees trimmed back, and the fences mended and backstop extended to prevent fly balls from hitting neighboring houses. The sprinkler system also needs repair. One dugout remains, but the other has been lost to the years.
The Belliottis are continuing the legacy of putting the community first by taking the initiative to create something good instead of waiting for someone else to come up with a solution. The baseball diamond is not just a home for them but for everyone who steps up to the plate.
Brendan Clarey is deputy editor of Michigan Enjoyer.
