Pride Set to Open 2018 Season
The 2018 Pride baseball team is set to open their season, this Thursday, May 31st at York Comprehensive High School. The team will play home games on Thursday and Friday before hitting the road on Saturday for their first road contest. Both Thursday and Friday’s games will be South Carolina Pride night and those with a valid South Carolina Drivers License or I.D will get in for just $1.
Pride baseball is coming off a very successful season after winning the Southern Collegiate Baseball League championship in just the teams 3rd year of existence. The Pride have posted an impressive 96-28 record in their 3 years in the SCBL, winning two regular season titles and finally capturing the championship last year. “I think the team was so successful (last season) because of how well the guys on the team meshed and got along. The team really emphasized brotherhood and picking each other up. We never panicked, we trusted that someone could pick us up, and I hope the same thing carries over to this year “said returning pitcher John Brocklebank about the success of the pride last season. Brocklebank was an important part of the pitching staff out of the bullpen last year posting 16.2 innings pitched while recording 16 strikeouts.
The Pride compete in the Southern Collegiate Baseball League which is a wood bat league featuring 8 teams, 3 of them being new. The Lenoir Oilers, Mooresville Spinners, and the Top Prospect Morgantown Aggies will all be new teams to the SCBL this year. The Pride will have a 35 game regular season. Games have been switched this year to one single 9 inning game with all games starting at 7 P.M. “ It means a lot to me to come back and play for The Pride and Coach Hudak! Playing last year and winning the SCBL was a very cool experience and I’m looking forward to doing that again! It also gives me an opportunity and good environment to continue growing my relationship with Christ!” said returning outfielder Jake Wright when asked about what it meant to come back and play for the pride this year. Wright batted .311 last year while sending 6 balls over the fence for home runs.
When asked what was the biggest goal fourth year head coach Joe Hudak had for his team off the field this season his response was: “ Our goal off the field is always the same, we want to help our players really learn what it means to be a Christian. We are a faith based team and my goal is to help them determine by the end of the summer if they want to be a Christ follower or not.”
The Pride will be proudly competing for Christ this season and you can follow along on the team’s website: Pridebaseball.net, on their Twitter: @thepridebball, and on Facebook: The Kingsmen Baseball.
