Infield Drainage Options

When it comes to infield drainage systems, there are three main options: subsurface, surface, or a hybrid of the two.

Subsurface drainage involves drainage tiles installed below the surface. After tile installation, backfill the trenches with stone and then cap with infield mix. 

Subsurface drainage presents a couple of concerns, though. The first has to do with finer soil becoming fully saturated before draining to the coarser soil underneath. The second concern with subsurface drainage is that a properly compacted infield with the proper ratio of sand, silt, and clay will not absorb enough water that the tiles will make any meaningful difference. Ultimately, it’s better to deal with drainage issues at the surface.

That said, your second option is surface drainage, which is the ideal choice for an infield. With a 0.5% grade from the front edge to the back arc, your infield will drain without the topdressing running off into the outfield grass. In a softball scenario, create a 0.4% grade from the pitching rubber in all directions. Any higher of a grade will give the impression of a pitcher’s mound, which is unwelcome on a softball field. Again, this grade prevents runoff of the topdressing into dugouts or fan seating.

Lastly, you can employ a hybrid drainage system where you install subsurface tiles as well as grade the surface of the infield. Our recommendation, however, is to skip subsurface drainage altogether and focus on a properly graded infield. Use laser grading to achieve that 0.5% or 0.4% grade for surface drainage on baseball and softball fields, respectively.