Riley Vesterby marks the top of the trusses so other people can nail in blocks. Vesterby works for Wenbourne & Sons and is one of the volunteers helping out at Marshfield High School Friday afternoon, building the new covered bullpen for the Pirate pitchers. World Photo by Lou Sennick.

Thanks to two years-worth of fund raising, the Marshfield pitching staff will have a roof over its head next season.

On Friday, the Pirates' new covered bullpen was unveiled - a roughly $35,000 building that was erected next to the team's batting shed in left field by a group of volunteers.

The addition means dry days in the shade for Marshfield's relievers, who will no longer have to deal with mud-caked spikes during warmup in the winter and early spring.

Much of the fund raising for the bullpen was organized by players' parents such as Robynn Reed, whose son, Adam plays catcher for Marshfield. Reed compiled a scrapbook of the construction dating back to its foundation, which was laid in November 2004.

Listed in the scrapbook are dozens of volunteers and sponsors that helped make the 30-by-94 dream a reality - sponsors such as Empire Fire Wood, Wal-Mart and Domino's Pizza. The Coquille Indian Tribe also helped, allowing the team to cut firewood on its waterfront property which was later sold to help cover the cost of the bullpen roof.

Reed recalls how the team chopped and delivered 10 chords in one day alone in November 2004. Reed spearheaded this event and other fund-raising efforts that added to the team's allotted $2,000 from the school.

“I went and personally asked companies if they were interested in helping,” Reed said. “Once people started to see what we were doing, more and more sponsors joined us. I was willing to hear people say no, but I was especially thankful when they said yes.”

Other sponsors for the bullpen included construction companies such as LTM and Rental Service Corporation. Both loaned equipment, transportation and supplies to the team's small army of volunteer workers.

Several architects granted their service. The school's booster club raised money for overhead lights.

Others donated raw materials. Southport lent 100 2-by-6-by-10s. The first building efforts were made by Steve Knowlton whose company Empire Wood Products donated trusses.

Once Reed had a steady cash flow from the sponsors, she handed the project over to Mike Davidson and Mike Collins, lead contractors for the South Coast Home Builders Association.

“ ... They coordinated the work parties and have done a really good job,” Reed said.

Knowlton's donation was an ice-breaker for other companies that offered volunteer work and supply. Collins and Davidson headed Friday's construction. Alongside them, Kim Lehmann of the Home Builders Association also organized work.

Lehmann was surprised with how many home-builders volunteered their effort Friday. They helped the bullpen get commissioned for service ahead of schedule.

“They're donating their time on the busiest day of the year,” Lehmann said. “We expected that we were not going to get very many people to help on Friday because of all of the other jobs going on, but we got enough people that we may be able to get it done tonight instead of having to work tomorrow ... it's gone faster than expected thanks to all of the help we have.”

Lehmann said summer is the busiest season for home construction. This was one of the reasons why the bullpen has taken over two years to build.

“Some of the kids that started the project have graduated,” Reed said. “The Home Builders said ‘by the time your son graduates,' and I laughed, and they said ‘no, don't laugh.' They weren't joking.”

By 10 a.m. on Friday, several 8-by-8 poles, which had been donated by Coos Head Forest Products, were in place lining the foundation. By 2 p.m., the building's skeleton-like frame was nearly complete.

On Friday, Lehmann said the community home builders, such as Collins, were the backbone for the bullpen's construction. Beyond helping Marshfield's baseball program, Collins and the Home Builders Association saw the project as a worthy effort simply because it helped the community.

“Most of the members are glad to help the community. We try to do what we can to help them,” Collins said. “That's one of the biggest things - if it's for the community and for our kids, we're happy to do it even if we don't have kids in school anymore. We want to do it for Marshfield and to help the community grow.”