What You Need to Know About the Homer Dome

The Homer Dome.

It's Sussex County's bandbox. With short porches and tall fences, a soft wind can turn a popout into a home run at 's baseball field.

The Chiefs will take on Delaware Valley at 4 p.m. in their home-opener. Here are 5 Things You Need to Know About the Homer Dome.

1. You Need to Know its Dimensions: Left: 287 feet; left-center: 338 feet; center: no distance posted; right-center: 339 feet; right: 270 feet.
2. You Need to Know About the Infield: It ain't the smoothest. Stay low. Expect to take a few grounders off the chest throughout the season.
3. You Need to Know its Real Name: No, it's not really called the Homer Dome. It's the Kevin Bartilotta Memorial Field. Says so on the sign behind the backstop. Speaking of which ...
4. You Need to Know About the Backstop: Hopatcong's got one of the bigger backstops in Sussex County, behind Newton's Smith Field and a couple of other spots. Good thing catcher D.J. Ross has a strong arm.
5. You Need to Know About Peaking Early: They say life, like wine, gets better with age. Not for Hopatcong Patch editor His walk-off grand slam against Newton in Hopatcong's home season-opener in 2005 was probably his greatest athletic achievement. (Kuty believes he's going to end up like "Married With Children" character Al Bundy, played by Ed O'Neill, who often reminded people of his four-touchdown football game at Polk High School.)