ELIAV APPELBAUM/Acorn Newspapers IN A PICKLE—To help demonstrate her problem, Simi resident Eleonore Friesz spent this past spring collecting and dating the baseballs that landed in her backyard—balls that originated on the campus of Grace Brethren School. The school says it has made several efforts to address the issue. It's not raining cats and dogs in Eleonore Friesz's backyard.

It's been pouring baseballs.

For the past 10 years, Friesz said, baseballs have been falling from the sky into the backyard of her Simi Valley home on Harold Avenue, which sits less than 60 feet from Grace Brethren High School's practice diamond.

The balls came so frequently, Friesz started collecting them last spring, and in three weeks she had 20. She said she's had to replace the roof on her home, which she's lived in since 1964, three times because of damage from errant baseballs.

"I can't even go in my own backyard. I haven't done anything in there for years," Friesz said. "One ball can ruin somebody's life."

In its defense, Grace Brethren has tried to address the problem by adding a new net to the field fence. The balls that do fall in her yard do not come from the batting cage, which is enclosed.

"We've been in very close contact with Eleonore and felt we were on good terms with her," Grace Brethren Principal John Hynes said, adding that Friesz is the only neighbor on the street that has voiced a concern about errant baseballs. "It's just one of those things that a lot of balls were coming in her yard for that brief period."

Hynes said the school can't control everything that happens on that field, especially since some youngsters use the field to shag fly balls on the weekend.

"We are trying to curtail neighborhood kids playing on the field on the weekend," Hynes said. "The majority of the problems she's had have probably been from weekend kids. . . . We've done what we can to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Friesz still feels it's an issue. She spoke during the public comments portion of the Simi Valley school board meeting Oct. 7.

Grace Brethren, which has been at its current location since 1989, leases the property from the school district.

Simi Valley Unified is looking into Friesz's claim that the baseball field is a safety issue.

Before Grace Brethren, Walnut Grove Elementary called the campus home. All five of Friesz's children attended Walnut Grove, which closed in the mid-'80s due to declining enrollment.

According to Pedro Avila, director of facilities and planning for the school district, a large baseball diamond was never intended to fit on the small campus surrounded by homes.

Friesz has seen firsthand how that plan went awry.

"I think the baseball field should not be so close to the residential area," Friesz said. "I think that school property is too small for kids to play with metal bats and hard balls."

Since the start of the school year, only one ball has dropped in Friesz's yard.

Principal Hynes said the school tries to be helpful when issues arise with neighbors.

For instance, the school addressed parking concerns with residents on Cherry Avenue.

"I feel bad," Hynes said. "Anytime our neighbors are put out, I take it personally. . . . My kids have to be held accountable. What we teach them is, if you're going to be community members, you need to take some responsibilities."