HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. – One year after breaking ground on the project, Centenary University celebrated the opening of the new baseball complex, "Our Diamond of Dreams" on Saturday morning.

The state-of-the-art facility gives the Cyclone baseball team a home on campus for the first time in program history. Located at the southeast corner of Centenary's campus, the facility includes amenities such as a turf field, stands, an entry archway, a new scoreboard and on-campus parking, as well as new dugouts and bullpens.

Our Diamond of Dreams was funded through a generous lead gift from Steve and Sharon Somers and a challenge grant from the Reeves Foundation. The project was also funded by a grant from the Baseball Tomorrow Fund, a joint initiative of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, which recognized the opportunities the complex can provide for local youth baseball and softball organizations. Numerous individual and corporate donors also contributed to the project.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony opened with current Centenary University student, Austin "AJ" Lewis singing the national anthem. He later returned to sing the alma mater.

Centenary president Dr. Rosalind Reichard took to the podium and shared some of the knowledge she gained about the history of baseball in Hackettstown before thanking the donors.

"The first mention of baseball in the history books in the library was from 1874, there was a baseball club called the 'eutaws'," said Reichard.

Centenary senior centerfield Jon Fleck spoke on behalf of the current team. He thanked Centenary head coach Scott Kushner for pushing to make the dream a reality and Steve Somers for making that dream a reality.

"Thank you for creating this beautiful field that we can now call home," said Fleck.

"This is a love letter to the people and organizations who inspired this place," said Kushner.

Kushner talked about stopping at the donor sign at the entrance to the field and how he and the team talked about being grateful to everyone who contributed and made the field possible.

Somers had a chance to speak as well.

"This field far exceeded my expectations and it's a great thing for me and hopefully this is a great thing for the community," said Somers.

Somers went on to thank his wife for supporting him, the Centenary people involved in the field, LandTek Group and more.

After Pastor Tim Nicinski blessed the field, Somers, Reichard and Kushner were joined on the field by several donors and officially cut the ribbon.

Once the ribbon was cut, Somers threw out the first official pitch to Kushner.

After a reception, the Cyclone baseball team played the alumni in the first game on "Our Diamond of Dreams."