Pace’s New Pace Softball Field has been suspended for live hitting indefinitely by the Athletic Department after a foul ball went over its fence and hit a car on the Taconic State Parkway during a practice on Feb. 28.

“[The ball] did go over the fence, it did a one-hop onto the road, it hit a car, there was no damage, no one stopped, there was no accident, no injuries. It didn’t hit it square on,” Softball Head Coach Claudia Stabile said.

After the incident, Stabile brought the situation to the attention of Athletics, who then suspended the field’s usage for live-hitting the same day.

The issue was caused by a fault in the construction of the fence’s back-netting solution that was supposed to prevent balls from landing off of Pace’s property, according to Athletics Director Mark Brown.

The field is still available for defensive practices since the team can control where balls land.

“When we’re just doing fly balls or ground balls, it’s not a problem,” Stabile said. “It’s when you’re playing live where you don’t just know where the ball is going to necessarily end up.”

Athletics is examining options to change the back-netting with several architects, landscape, and design companies. Pace will order to the construction equipment and vehicles necessary to correct the problem once a solution is selected.

Once a solution is implemented, Brown says Pace will test the field to make sure that no more balls can exit Pace’s property.

The softball team will use Pace Field, which was their old home field for the last 35 years located on Pace’s former Briarcliff Campus, until a solution is reached.

The transition will be easy, according to Stabile.

“Briarcliff has been our home for 35 years, so it’s nothing new. We are actually very familiar with the field, with the fence, with the wind, with the sun. So there are actually less adjustments to make going back to Briarcliff,” Stabile said.

In order to use Pace Field again, however, its fences had to be put back up, which is an annual event since the field is also used for soccer. Pace was already in possession of the fencing it put up according to Brown.

The former campus’ owner, Research Center on Natural Conservation, allowed the university to rent Pace Field for $250 per day of use, according to Brown.

Pace Field will be used for practice five-to-eight times and be played on for seven games depending on the weather, according to Brown.

New Pace Softball Field has been in use since the fall, this was the only incident the field experienced, according to Stabile and Brown.

“That’s the only ball I’ve been aware of that has gone on any roadway, but one is too many,” Brown said.

New Pace Softball Field was originally built by the Andron Construction Corp. The total cost of its construction is currently unknown as Pace is still receiving invoices for its construction, which wouldn’t be finished until September of this year, according to Director of Administration and Communications Aisha Moyla.