RAPID CITY - Jim Brandt never cared much for the old pitcher's mound at Pete Lien Memorial Field anyway.

"It wasn't quite up to specs. The height wasn't quite right," said Brandt, coach of the Rapid City Post 320 American Legion baseball team that rearranged its game schedule and allowed its home field to be rebuilt to accommodate Tuesday night's exhibition women's softball game between the U.S. Olympic team and the South Dakota Gold All-Stars.

After Team USA downed the Gold 7-0 as part of the Bound 4 Beijing Tour, work began early Wednesday to restore Pete Lien Field to baseball specifications and Brandt got his new hill out of the deal.

"Now we can start over with the right one," he said.

Crews from the Rapid City Parks and Recreation Department, local softball and baseball players and adult volunteers began clean-up early Wednesday.

It didn't take long to remove 16 city-owned portable bleachers that had increased the field's spectator capacity to more than 3,800 spectators.

Also removed was a large hospitality tent, porta-potties, temporary outfield fencing and dozens of trash bags.

"We started at 6 a.m., and by 9 a.m. those bleachers were all being towed out of here," said Gary Garner of the city parks department.

Brandt didn't have to look far to find someone who knew how to rebuild a baseball diamond.

Post 320 assistant coach Tom Johnson had helped replace a pitcher's mound and infield sod while working with the minor-league Sacramento River Cats, a Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland A's.

"We had to put the mound back in and replace all the infield grass after a soccer game," Johnson said.

When plans to host Team USA at Pete Lien Field were first announced last year, conversion to the smaller softball diamond involved shaving the pitcher's mound to level ground and removal of most of the infield grass, but sod removal for Tuesday night's game was limited to the area directly in front of the mound for the 43-foot softball pitching distance, along with a second-base sliding box cut in between the baseball mound and infield dirt.

Base paths for softball are 60 feet long, as opposed to the 90-foot distance in baseball.

"I thought we'd have to re-sod the entire infield," Johnson said. "I'm pleasantly pleased that didn't turn out to be the case here."

Johnson used a string level to set the new pitcher's mound level at the required 10-inch elevation and 60-foot, six inch distance from home plate. The slope was to be the required one-inch drop per foot of the mound's radius, he said.

Johnson said the new sod would be held in place with special staples until the grass can reestablish roots.

Brandt said leaving the unsodded areas leveled off with dirt until the end of the regular season in three weeks would have been acceptable.

"There wasn't much grass left in front of the pitcher's mound anyway. It was pretty worn out," Brandt said.

"They could just as well waited until the end of the season, but they'll go ahead and replace it anyway," he said.

Brandt's Post 320 Stars varsity practiced on the field Wednesday night and the junior varsity Rising Stars hosted Spearfish on Thursday night.

Brandt and Johnson were pleased with not only hosting a historic sports event for Rapid City, but also with the apparent minimal impact on Pete Lien Field.

I hope everyone enjoyed it," said Brandt. "I was really impressed with how it came off."

"For as big of an event as it was, it really turned out well," Johnson added.