Shining A Light On Baseball

A generous $100,000 gift from athletic board member and campus supporter William Scripps has helped launch an initiative to purchase and install lighting on UC San Diego’s baseball field. Scripps is the grandson of Robert Paine Scripps and the great-grandson of E.W. Scripps, founder of the Scripps-Howard newspaper company, United Press International, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “Lighting will give Triton athletes more play time, which is key to their success,” notes Scripps. Field lighting will also give UC San Diego’s baseball team the opportunity to host championships — something that has not been possible before. Since the baseball field is also open for use by members of the community, the option of holding night games would allow the university to accommodate play for more youth groups and other college-age teams as well. The total cost of the baseball field lighting is estimated at $450,000. “This is a great time to be involved in athletics at UCSD,” concludes Scripps. “The success of the program is impressive. It’s a testament to the caliber of UC San Diego’s student-athletes, coaches and staff.” (858/534-3540, www.givetoathletics.ucsd.edu)   JANE SHIOMI