On my recent trip out to the Chicago/NW Indiana area for business (ArcBest), I had some personal time Wednesday to check out some local baseball experiences. One spot that really caught my eye was in nearby Hammond, Indiana (I was staying in Schererville) and the athletic fields of Purdue University Northwest. It was a short drive, maybe 7 miles if that, cloudy conditions with a spot of rain or two when I arrived at Dowling Park, the baseball home of the Purdue University Northwest Pride Baseball team.

After parking in the lot next to the baseball field, I noticed a group of softball players practicing on an adjacent field to the baseball field. It had rained overnight and the field and grounds were still a bit wet. I made my way over to the front gate entrance of Dowling Park and noticed an open gate, so I walked through it and over to the baseball field. Nice looking field – all turf except for the pitcher’s mound. I took my usual stroll around the backstop and headed out to the left field area to see if I could spot any cool Purdue Northwest tributes or statues or retired numbers.

Purdue University Northwest plays their home games at Laborers’ Local 41 Field in Hammond. Who is Local 41, you might ask? 41, according to their bio online is “a construction union labor local in Northwest Indiana, representing 1200 members.” According to the Purdue Northwest Athletics page, the field has been in operation since 2019. As for the baseball team, the Purdue University Northwest Pride play in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or GLIAC of the NCAA’s Division II. Purdue Northwest is managed by Head Coach Dave Griffin. According to the PUNW Baseball page, Griffin just finished his 12 year at the helm of the Pride.

Assuming the Pride baseball program was like a lot of other NCAA Fall baseball programs, not much is going on except for the occasional games and daily workouts and practices. Fall baseball, no matter what level you are referring to, tends to be a more relaxed and mellow time of year for baseball programs. The majority of teams use the fall to recover, train, develop, and get ready for the hectic Spring and Summer campaigns the following year. With that being said, I loved walking the perimeter of Local 41 Field. The field was in great shape, as were the grounds, very well maintained, and highly presentable. I did see one set of bleachers behind home plate and there were plenty of viewing spots on both the left and right field fan lines.

The rain on Wednesday morning, which had stopped during my brief tour of Laborers’ Local 41 Field, had started back up again. So, I took a few last looks at the field and then headed back to my rental car. On the way back to my hotel, I stopped in at the American Antiques Mall off Route 41. It was incredible. I could have literally spent the entire day there checking out vintage music, sports memorabilia, clothing items, and more. I spent a good amount of time in this section…

It was a really fun visit to Purdue University Northwest’s Laborers’ Local 41 Field, home of the PUNW Pride Baseball team. The field, being all turf except for the mound, was in ready to play condition and will stay like that all Fall, all Winter, and into their Spring season. Nice to have a field like that you don’t have to constantly mow and cover and care for during those cold NW Indiana months, in my opinion. It was great getting to know a little more about the Pride team, their conference, and to read up on their history. Dowling Park is awesome, a huge sports complex which supports multiple sports of Purdue University Northwest. Luckily, the rain didn’t deter me from enjoying my time touring the perimeter of the baseball field. Overall, it was a really cool Hammond, Indiana experience at Purdue University Northwest’s Laborers’ Local 41 Field, home of the PUNW Pride baseball team.