OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Three years ago, Tom LaChance had a gleam in his eye Sunday it became a tear.

It’s presence was understandable, considering all that he and his band of volunteers went through to bring the Ballpark back from the dead.

Now it was full of life once more, complete with baseball fans in the renovated stands and balls flying over the old green fence.

Just like it was in the mid 1980’s when the structure was new, when Otis Nixon ran wild on its basepaths, when Cory Snyder socked balls into the foggy night, when Marvin Freeman was still actually “Starvin’”.

And even though the Maine Guides [and for a final year, the Phillies] occupied the Ballpark for just five years, LaChance saw it all.

And even though the land lay in weedy neglect for most of the next 20 years, there was still a diamond under all that rough, waiting for

LaChance to catch its gleam.

He did, and Sunday, the Ballpark shone under the sunniest of skies for all to see.

A home run derby to kick off the USCAA National Baseball Tournament was its coming out party.

And while derby-winner Jonathan Dehoux of the Apprentice School was belting balls into the trees, LaChance was both savoring the moment, and awash in it.

“It was emotional,” said LaChance, Yarmouth postmaster by day, and OOB High School baseball coach by dusk. “Very, very emotional. I don’t get teary eyed [for] hardly anything. It’s been a long three years of missing my kids. A lot of hours away from them, to make a reality

happen.”

A reality made more vivid by the sight of 10 college teams in uniform, filling the infield for the opening ceremonies of a tournament that will crown a championship on Thursday.

The USCAA is a collection of more than 60 colleges from across the country, all with enrollments below 1,500 students.

“We have a unique set of schools,” said Dave Gonyea, Athletic Director of Central Maine Community College, who also serves as President of the USCAA’s Board of Directors. “We have four-year schools, two-year schools, Christian schools, trade schools. [Ones] that could possibly be considered misfits by other associations.”

The USCAA’s baseball championship moves to the Ballpark after a two-year stay in Hampton, Va.

The decision to stage its premier baseball event in Old Orchard was made long before LaChance and his helpers had taken the first rake to the infield.

Needless to say, it was something of a leap of faith.

But one that Gonyea said was easily made.

“When I saw the park about a year and a half ago,” said Gonyea, “I was not sure it could happen. Then I met Tom LaChance, and I knew it could happen. He’s a man who never stops until he gets it done. I think he’s a valuable asset to the community.”

And in LaChance’s mind, it was this community ”¦ his community, that kept the Ballpark fire burning in his heart.

“It’s a reward for them,” said LaChance. “If you look around, and see all the volunteers who took part in this. This is why we did it. From those who put in an hour, to thousands of hours. It’s about people enjoying the game. It’s about the smiles.”

Smiles, yes, mixed in with a tear or two.

— Contact Staff Writer Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.