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A tornado that ripped through Illinois on Wednesday destroyed a popular baseball and softball complex in the city of Jacksonville. In addition to that tornado, multiple others were confirmed across parts of central Illinois.
There have been several reports and videos that show a tornado did, in fact, appear and/or touch down near Ashland, Mason City, Petersburg, Prentice, and Jacksonville.
The damage caused by one of the tornadoes ripped through Future Champions Sports Complex, formerly known as Lenz Field, a multi-field baseball and softball complex that hosts around thirty events per year.
On a personal note, my son and I have participated in numerous baseball tournaments at the facility. In recent years, the complex has been damaged by high winds, knocking down fences and scoreboards and sending temporary pitching mounds flying, but nothing has come even close to the damage Wednesday’s tornado has caused.
Several videos and photos of the damage have already been shared on social media showing the devastation to the complex.
According to WAND News, “Debris was scattered across a number of ball fields and several items tore down protective nets. Storage and maintenance buildings across the street from the complex were also badly damaged.”
At the time of their report, WAND News stated, “It’s unclear if there are any injuries following the storms in Morgan County” and that “power outages reached at least 6,200 customers” and “nearly 14,000 customers were without power in the entire state.”
I know my son and I had planned on playing in another tournament at Future Champions Sports Complex this coming August, but who knows if that will happen now. More importantly, we are hoping and praying that no one was injured or killed as a result of the devastating storm that tore through the area today.