Kingsmen baseball, a Rock Hill collegiate summer team, ready for Year 1
The 2022 season for the Southern Collegiate Baseball League is just around the corner, and Kingsmen Baseball of Rock Hill is making their final preparations for the upcoming campaign.
The Kingsmen, which played as the Piedmont Pride for the past six seasons, is once again headed up by Joe Hudak, the former Winthrop University baseball coach and WU Hall of Famer who has put together another summer of baseball. The team will also take a 10-day break in mid-season to go to the Dominican Republic on a mission trip, like it did last year.
“We had to work all of that out with the league officials,” Hudak told The Herald. “In the past all of our players have really looked forward to both the mission trip and playing baseball. I am very happy that we could work it all out to do both.”
The Kingmen did not play in the league last year. Instead, they went on two mission trips.
The Kingsmen will have a roster of 23 players. They come from eight different states and Canada, and 18 university baseball programs are represented on this year’s team.
Seven of this year’s players are from South Carolina, and four are from the local area. Jordan Thurmond, who can pitch as well as play infield and outfield, is from Rock Hill, while Mathieu Curtis, who is a right-handed pitcher, is from Tega Cay. Gavin Phillips, who catches and plays third base, and Chas Debruhl, a left-handed pitcher, are both from Kershaw.
Hudak’s teams have been very successful in their previous years in the wooden bat league. They have an overall record of 178-54 during that time. They have won five regular season titles and four end-of-the-year championship tournaments.
Three players from the 2020 team return for another season, while the other 20 players are newcomers. Hudak works all year to find the best players available to fill his roster.
“Summer baseball is like a box of chocolates,” said the veteran coach. “You never know what you are going to get. We have been very fortunate in the past to get some really good players, who played hard all year.”
All of the players in the league are on college teams, and all of them want the opportunity to play in the summer.
“This league gives them a chance to continue playing in the summer against some very good competition,” he said. “The one thing that I really like about it is that all these players want to be here to play and compete to improve their skills.”
Hudak feels like this year’s club could be very good.
“I think we have a solid pitching staff, and that is where it starts,” he added. “We have some excellent hitters in this year’s group and some very good defensive players. I think that we have a chance to be really good this summer.”
Each team in the league will play the other teams in the five-team league six times. The Kingsmen will have 11 home playing dates. The have 10 single games and the other is a doubleheader.
The other teams in the league are the Mooresville Spinners, the Carolina Vipers, the Concord Athletics and the Lake Norman Copperheads.
The Kingsmen will be playing their home games at York Comprehensive High School. All single games start at 7 p.m., with the twinbill date set for a 5 p.m. start.
The admission for a game is $5 for adults and $3 for seniors and children. There are no season tickets.
The opening game of the season is on Friday, June 3, on the road against the Mooresville Spinners.