Homeowners say FCPS' options to keep foul baseballs from damaging homes are swing & miss

FREDERICK COUNTY, Md. (7News) — Last month, 7News cameras caught foul balls flying over the netting at Oakdale High School in Frederick County, smashing into homes and crashing into traffic.

There's so many foul balls — parents are banning their kids from playing in their backyards.

"Whenever the game starts here, we ensure our kids aren't coming to the backyard. Just for safety purposes,” Aaditya Sankara, who lives next to the baseball field, said.

Developers constructed the netting when the homes were built years after the school and baseball field were constructed.

READ MORE | Parents say foul balls from Oakdale High baseball field pose risk to nearby homes, traffic

In April, the school district claimed the liability for the netting was not on them.

In March, 7News spoke to Dr. Paul Lebo, the school district’s Chief Operating Officer.

"Did the school district see this as a safety issue or not? Yes or no on that? 7News I-Team Investigative Reporter Scott Taylor asked.

"We understand that the community has concerns. This field has been operated effectively at well over a decade, so we look to continued conversations,” Lebo answered.

"So that's not a yes or no?" Taylor pressed on.

Now, things have suddenly changed.

SEE ALSO | Parents complain to Frederick County School Board about foul baseballs crashing into homes

7News learned the school district, Lake Linganore Association (the homeowner's HOA) and the developer Oakdale Investments have met behind closed doors and produced two options.

Option 1: Develop a canopy of trees between the field and the houses.

Option 2: Relocate the backstop closer to home plate in hopes it cuts down on foul balls rocketing out of the ballpark.

Homeowners tell 7News that the two options are a swing and a miss to solve the safety issue.

"Even though we think that is a great step forward, we don't think that will be an adequate protection against the velocity of the baseballs,” says Yakov Elizarov, who lives right behind home plate.

In April, the Frederick County Sheriff's Department told 7News the foul balls are a safety issue.

Frederick County Public Schools emailed 7 News.

Good Afternoon, Scott:

I hope you're well.

If you'd like our team to schedule an interview with Dr. Lebo, please follow the process that was shared with you yesterday.

In lieu of an interview, the homeowner's association, the developer, and FCPS held a collaborative discussion focused on identifying a reasonable and feasible solution to address residents' concerns.

The Frederick County Sheriff's Offices was not involved, as the matter does not fall under law enforcement jurisdiction.

While FCPS does not have a formal bid to present at this time, we are evaluating the possibility of moving the backstop closer to home plate to further reduce the number of foul balls breaching the fence and netting.

The HOA has shared available options with residents, and FCPS will continue working collaboratively with both the developer and the HOA to determine the best path forward.

Be well,

Eric

Eric Louérs–Phillips, DOL

Associate Superintendent of Public Affairs Frederick County Public Schools