Poky baseball to get new home following sponsorship agreement

POCATELLO — Thanks to a new corporate sponsorship, the Pocatello High School varsity baseball team will open their 2026 season in a new home.

According to head coach Vinnie Benavidez, the Thunder, who have played their home games at Halliwell Park for years, will move to Hawthorne Middle School — where their JV team plays its home games. At the conclusion of the 2025 season, Rails West Field will be constructed — with sponsorship funding from Rails West Federal Credit Union.

“It’s going to be a game-changer for us, something that we’re really looking forward to,” Benavidez told EastIdahoSports.com.

The Rails West Field playing surface will be all-turf, which is “huge” in eastern Idaho, where weather effects the beginning of the season every season, Benavidez said.

Like in years past, the Thunder opened their season on the road — playing in tournaments, first in St. George, Utah, then in the Buck’s Bags Tournament in the Boise area. And like in years past, Pocatello entered play with little practice time, facing teams that have been practicing for weeks and even had several games played under their belt.

The turf field will allow Pocatello to get full practices in earlier in the year and “even the playing field,” Benavidez said.

“It’s just a huge addition for our program,” he added. “It’s just a big upgrade. … It’s also going to be nice for us to have something we can call our own.”

Rails West and CEO Paul Contreras were “excited” by the opportunity to help the Poky baseball program and community, and “get their name out there,” Benavidez said.

The Thunder are off to a slow 2-10 start to the season. And while they are a young group — with just four seniors, only two returning starters and having the majority of the players in their first season of varsity ball — the expectation, according to Benavidez, is still to compete for a state championship.

Because of weather-related delays, Poky is a team that usually starts slow.

“We’re not off to a great start, but it’s like I tell (the players) every year, we’ve just got to be playing the best baseball at the right time of the year,” Benavidez said. “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”

The Thunder are back on the road this weekend, when they will play a doubleheader — against Columbia and Vallivue, Saturday.

Starting next Wednesday, April 9, they will return to Halliwell Field for five consecutive home games. There are currently just six more home games on the schedule this season for the Thunder — the last six to be played at Halliwell.

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