They have a new name, but the 2022 Kingsmen Baseball summer collegiate team is hoping for the same old results. Those results include tremendous success on and off the diamond. After traveling all last summer, the Kingsmen are back playing in the Southern Collegiate Baseball League. Their six-year membership in the SCBL has produced an overall record of 178-54 and includes 5 Regular Season Championships and 3 Playoff Championships. The off-the-field results include 9 mission trips to the Dominican Republic and 1 to Alaska.
Kingsmen Founder and Head Coach Joe Hudak explained how the plans for this summer unfolded. “We had originally planned to travel again this summer”, he explained. “We had accepted an invitation to play in the prestigious Prague Baseball Week in the Czech Republic.. We planned to play here in the Carolinas for 2-3 weeks, then go to Prague for 10 days, and finish the summer with 2 weeks in the Dominican Republic”. The uncertainty of traveling to Europe during the current world situation changed Hudak’s mind. “We were all excited to travel to Prague to play in this tournament. In the end, I just didn’t feel comfortable taking the team to Eastern Europe with all that was going on”, Hudak continued. “The SCBL wanted us to come back into the league. I told them that we would if they would give us 10 days off in the middle of the season to go on our mission trip to the DR”. The SCBL board of directors agreed so the Kingsmen will be traveling to the Dominican Republic June 29-July 9. “I think it’s the best of both worlds for us” Hudak concluded. “We get to play a full SCBL schedule and go to the Dominican for 10 days in the middle of the summer when all of our players can make the trip”
The Kingsmen players report on May 25, although some players may report late due to their college tournament. Here are some important dates for the Kingsmen:
- May 25 – players report
- May 26 – the first ever Kingsmen Baseball First Pitch Banquet(more details coming later)
- May 28 – first exhibition game
- June 3 – first SCBL regular season game
- June 29-July 9 – mission trip to the Dominican Republic
- July 22 – regular season endsJuly 25-30 – SCBL Playoffs
The team will again play their home games at York Comprehensive High School in York, SC. Game times are 7PM for single games and 5PM for the occasional doubleheader. The schedule will be posted in the next couple of weeks. All games will be broadcast on the internet featuring the voice of the Kingsmen Steven “The Stoneman” Stone. You can follow all things Kingsmen at www.kingsmenbaseball.org.
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