Monsters open at home
- Updated: December 10, 2021
Oxford’s collegiate wooden-bat team will play at Choccolocco Park every weekend of the Sunbelt League’s 28-game season
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
OXFORD – The first game in the history of the Choccolocco Monsters’ collegiate wooden-bat baseball franchise will be June 3 against the league’s 2021 runner-up – and it will be in Choccolocco Park.
While final details on the complete Sunbelt Baseball League schedule are still being settled, the Monsters will open their inaugural season with a home-and-home series against the Columbus Chatt-a-Hoots. The teams will play in Golden Park the next night.
The teams likely will play a pair of home-and-home exhibition games earlier in the week to work out the Opening Day kinks. The rest of the league opens May 31.
“I think the league wants to do that,” said Scott Brand, president of Ignite Sports, the ownership group of both the Monsters and Hoots. “Now that there’s two teams that are gate-driven I think that was a big thing for the league, and then obviously we want to build up the rivalry with Columbus.
“They asked us would you rather open the season at home or on the road. I think I’d rather open at home. And having that Monday or Wednesday exhibition game is going to be good because we’re going to have kinks, we’re going to forget stuff. I’m a 20-plus-year veteran in sports and I still forget.”
Overall, the nine-team, three division league will play a 28-game regular-season schedule. The Monsters will play most of their home games on Friday and Saturday except when they play Columbus. They’ll play every team in the league, but the Brookhaven Bucks are the only one not expected to make a visit to Choccolocco Park this season.
The three divisions are:
West – Choccolocco Monsters, Columbus Chatt-a-Hoots, Gwinnett Astros.
Central – Brookhaven Bucks, Atlanta Crackers, Atlanta Blues.
East – Waleska Wild Things, Alpharetta Aviators, Gainesville Gold Diggers.
The three division winners and the three teams with the next best records make the playoffs. The top two division winners draw first-round byes.
League officials have told the teams to have their schedules finalized by Jan. 15.
Since August when the Monsters were awarded a franchise, two teams in the league have undergone ownership or rebranding changes. The Gainesville team was sold to the founder of an overseas gaming company with potential access to foreign players and now will be known as the Gold Diggers. The Atlanta Blues are the former Marietta Patriots.
Monsters management also is expected to put in a bid to host the July 17 All-Star Game against the Florida Collegiate Baseball League stars. Columbus hosted the game last year.
Former Jacksonville State assistant coach Steve Gillispie was brought on as the Monsters field manager in October and is in the process of finalizing his staff. The team will start signing players next week.
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