The Dugout Indoor Batting Center Scoring a Home Run in Scottsbluff

Omaha – At The Dugout Batting Center in Scottsbluff, you can master your swing at the indoor batting cages and walk out with a dozen fresh-baked French macarons.

The Dugout is the brainchild of Jennifer and Martin Urdiales, who early on participated in the region’s love for baseball and softball. Martin started playing baseball in his youth in the Morrill Legion League. Jennifer played softball through the Gering Girls Softball Association, and played on the inaugural Scottsbluff High School softball team.

When their oldest of two daughters began playing T-ball in 2016 and they served as coaches, the Urdiales found very few fields set aside for practice sessions. “We kept jumping around, trying to find a place to go,” Jennifer recalls, “and worse, we were always trying to beat the spring western Nebraska weather that changes in an instant.

“Then, when Covid hit, there was no team play, so we took her to the park for batting practice,” she says. “We can coach but we’re not pitchers. We thought it was a disfavor teaching her how to swing at junk.”

With the popularity of baseball and softball in the region, the couple believed a business with indoor pitching machines would be equally popular.

Martin has been in the trucking industry with his parents for more than 30 years. Jennifer is a Mortgage Loan Originator. “It’s fulltime work, but neither one of us has to punch a time clock,” Jennifer says. “So we thought we’d look into our idea of indoor batting cages.”

Jennifer is active in networking and leadership groups in Scottsbluff, and the couple was aware of the services offered by the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC). After deciding on a more-than 100-year-old building in downtown Scottsbluff for their new business venture, the couple began working with Alexander Coon, NBDC Center Director in Scottsbluff.

“They reached out needing assistance with a business plan and financial projections,” Coon recalls. “I helped them with these to use for the Nebraska Small Business Assistance Act (NSBAA) grant program with GROW Nebraska. I continued working with them from time to time as they were renovating their building, updating their business plan and projections as their costs changed and additional loans were needed.”

The renovations were extensive, Jennifer says. “The building is from 1909,” she says. “We eventually dubbed it ‘the onion,’ because every time we pulled back a layer, we’d find another layer underneath that needed to be addressed.”

Still, they persevered, with Martin and his father doing much of the work themselves. “Scottsbluff has been doing great things the past 10 years to make downtown a fun area,” Jennifer says. “We wanted to be a part of that excitement.”

The business opened May 1, 2025, and drew many players and teams due to an especially rainy spring. The Urdiales hope the winter months will also keep the cages busy.

Since opening, they have added a concession stand with traditional ballpark fare, along with a gallery space with tables and chairs where people can watch the players or host birthday parties.

One of the most popular additions has been the Elaisa/Jane (named for their daughters) limited edition bakery featuring Jennifer’s homemade French macarons and buttercream sugar cookies. The two-day effort she puts into her macarons has generated a loyal and satisfied following.

The Urdiales credit the NBDC and Alex Coon with providing the tools they needed to get their business around the bases. “Having an idea is not the hard part,” Jennifer says. “Fine-tuning the business – how much to charge, how to make it self-sustaining – much of it before you open your doors. If you can’t make the numbers work on paper, they aren’t going to work in real life. Having the free services the NBDC offers is a huge advantage.”

Almost like having Derek Jeter on your bench.