Washington’s baseball coaching staff got a belated Christmas present over the weekend. Someone drove over the baseball field, digging up grass in the outfield and tearing up the dirt in the infield.

Head coach Kevin Leggett said he was more disappointed than anything. He should be. Leggett and the other Pam Pack coaches put countless hours of work into maintaining the field. Keeping it in top shape is a year-round, nearly full-time task. It’s a point of pride for him and the players.

That work was undone by someone who thought it would be funny to drive circles around the field.

It’s an incident that is part of a larger problem. Washington had 584 property crimes committed in 2016, according to the FBI uniform crime report. That number encompasses larceny, theft, burglary, arson, shoplifting and vehicle theft, as well as vandalism.

In this specific case, all it takes is a sense of respect for the work that others put into the Beaufort County community. Leggett said the appearance of the baseball field is a way to, in a way, show off Washington to the teams that will be visiting the area to play beginning in February.

Moreover, the state of the field directly impacts the baseball team itself. Leggett isn’t the only person who has put immeasurable work into the program. Athletes past and current have helped build the Pam Pack to the 15-8, second-round playoff team it was last year.

They rely on that field for a place to practice. Washington is in the midst of preparing for the upcoming season, which begins with a late-February scrimmage against New Bern. Thankfully, Leggett said the preseason won’t be impacted by the vandalism.

There is too much hard work put into this community each and every day for someone looking for a joyride and some giggles to come around and destroy it.