Six Argonauts Playing In Summer Baseball Leagues
Photo Courtesy of Pete SintesPENSACOLA, Fla. — With summer in full swing, six University of West Florida baseball players will be spending their days not on the beach but honing their skills on the diamond as they will represent the Argos on collegiate summer baseball leagues throughout the United States.
Of the six playing ball this summer, half are represented on rosters in the Valley Baseball League. Starting pitcher Kevin Johnson (Pensacola, Fla./Alabama Southern CC) is playing for the Haymarket Senators while outfielder Eric Kroll (Pace, Fla./Pace HS) will suit up for the Woodstock River Bandits this summer. Brandon Brewer (Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS), an upcoming junior, will be patrolling the middle infield with the Front Royal Cardinals.
Reliever Blake Maher will represent the Argos as the lone team member in the Florida Collegiate Summer League. He will be playing for the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs.
Playing in the Walter Johnson League based out of Wichita, Kan. are teammates Phillip Ebert (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) and Tyler Hastings (Niceville, Fla./Niceville HS). Both Ebert and Hastings will be lacing them up together this summer as they take the field for the same team, the Park City Rangers.
The Valley League and the Florida Collegiate Summer League are a part of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball. The association consists of eight summer wood bat baseball leagues throughout the U.S. The Walter Johnson League in Kansas is in association with the National Baseball Congress which consists of 21 summer college baseball leagues. The NBC also hosts the NBC World Series in late July/early August for teams from across the association.
Mostly all of the summer leagues are wooden bat leagues which allow college players to continue to play baseball during the summer while college is out of session. Those players are able to hone and improve their skills throughout the summer in preparation for next year’s Fall and Spring seasons. Almost all of these summer leagues have seasons that run from June through August.
For more information on Argonaut athletics or to follow along with live stats, fans can keep up with the action at www.GoArgos.com.
Valley Baseball League Homepage
Walter Johnson Baseball League Homepage
Florida Collegiate Summer League Homepage
