Baseball in Suffolk just got better.

It’s often been difficult to find the perfect place to practice baseball with your kids. Not only did I find myself trying to get home before dark, or fight the cold, but find a good place where I didn’t spend most of my time chasing baseballs from the outfield after one of the boys hit it.

Thankfully, I don’t have those challenges any longer. Now, I can drive a few minutes down the road to the new business Sluggers and let the kids swing all they want and I don’t have to worry about the additional exercise of chasing down the baseballs.

Mike and Suzanne Sargent along with Joe and Donna Widger are owners of the new business Sluggers located on West Constance Road in the West Suffolk Plaza Center. The space had been vacant for years but now lays claim to being home to Suffolk’s first indoor baseball facility.

If you have kids that play baseball and haven’t been to Sluggers yet, then you are missing out. My youngest son, Landon and I have been on numerous occasions and each time have been reminded how lucky we are to have such a facility in our city, rather than having to drive outside the city limits to enjoy the cage opportunity.

The new business features seven indoor batting cages for baseball and softball, a baseball and softball “pro shop” of apparel and equipment and a training academy. The cages are available for hourly rental or to use with tokens. Scores of little league and high school teams have already taken advantage of the new facility along with hundreds of new and experienced baseball players. The opportunities given by the training academy for the youth is great too. Most communities benefit only by the knowledge of volunteer coaches and parents teaching them, rather than having available experts at their disposal for lessons.

The new facility is a sign of the times for Suffolk. It’s just another business that boasts Suffolk is growing and our quality of life is ever improving.

And if you don’t have children and want to relive some old glory days, the batting cages are perfect for adults too. The pitching machines are set on “Slow”, “Medium” and “Fast”, so you can choose just how brave you want to be.

Sluggers can be reached by phone at 757-923-4444. Their hours of operation are Monday through Friday 12 to 10 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Don’t wait too long to try out one of Suffolk’s newest businesses.