For 20 years, La Quinta baseball Coach...

For 20 years, La Quinta baseball Coach Dave Demarest has wondered what it would be like playing home games in a first-class facility.

Demarest has often marveled at the fields at El Dorado, Esperanza, Mater Dei, Laguna Hills and Fountain Valley. Before last season, he went so far as to accept a job at Trabuco Hills but resigned two days later, saying he “just didn’t feel right” at his new position.

Well, this season Demarest has the field of his dreams. La Quinta has a $15,000 field that features an outfield fence with warning track, a refurbished infield and a new batting cage.

“This is 20 years in the making,” Demarest said. “We couldn’t do it until now because I never could get approval to enclose the field. It was all done with private donations.”

Funds were raised through sales of advertising on the outfield fences. Other beneficiaries of the new field will be the Orange County Cardinals, a Connie Mack team that Demarest coaches in the summer, and the Bolsa Little League.

“Those teams will be playing two games a week on this field, so it’s going to get plenty of use all year round,” Demarest said.