Peninsula Pilots

Last updated
Peninsula Pilots
New Peninsula Pilots Logo.png
Information
League Coastal Plain League  (East)
Location Hampton, Virginia
Ballpark War Memorial Stadium
Founded2000
Division championships2006, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018
Petitt Cup championships2013, 2014
Colors   
Orange, Navy Blue, and Light Blue
MascotSlyder
OwnershipHenry Morgan
ManagementMatt Mitchell
CoachHank Morgan
Website www.peninsulapilots.com

The Peninsula Pilots are an amateur baseball team in the Coastal Plain League, collegiate summer baseball league. The team plays its home games at the War Memorial Stadium in Hampton, Virginia. The Pilots first started participating in the Coastal Plain League in 2000. The Pilots are coached by Hank Morgan, a former player at Virginia Military Institute and Christopher Newport University.

Contents

History

The Pilots moniker derives from the Peninsula Pilots (1963–1992), who were a member of the minor league baseball Class A Carolina League, who also played at War Memorial Stadium. [1]

The Pilots have played in five Petit Cup Finals in their Coastal Plain League existence. They made it to back-to-back Petitt Cup Finals in 2006 and 2007, losing both times to the High Point-Thomasville HiToms, 6–1 and 4–3 respectively. The Pilots returned to the final in 2009 after winning the North Division where they faced the Forest City Owls and lost in two games. In 2013 and 2014, Peninsula broke through and won back-to-back titles, winning 2–0 and 2–1 over Columbia and Florence respectively. The Pilots set a team record for wins in 2014 when they won the second half East title and the top overall seed in the East. The Pilots are tied for the second most league titles in CPL history with the Edenton Steamers, Outer Banks Daredevils, Wilmington Sharks, and Forest City Owls, all of whom, including Peninsula, won their titles in consecutive years. The record is three, which is held by the High Point-Thomasville HiToms, who won three straight.

Hank Morgan is the winningest coach in Coastal Plain League history, with 378 wins as of the end of the 2019 CPL season. Morgan broke the previous record of 289 wins, held by former Fayetteville SwampDogs manager Darrell Handelsman, on Saturday, July 25, 2015.

Yearly records

SeasonManagerRecordPostseason Record
2000Greg Mucerino13-31
2001Paul Knight24-27
2002Eric Coleman27-240-1
2003Greg Lovelady23-240-1
2004Ryan Morris29-190-1
2005Andy Wissinger23-32
2006Matt Ried37-213-1, L Finals
2007Matt Ried(37) & Hank Morgan(22)35-243-1, L Finals
2008Hank Morgan34-262-2
2009Hank Morgan38-243-3, L Finals
2010Hank Morgan35-263-2
2011Hank Morgan27-290-2
2012Hank Morgan26-28-10-2
2013Hank Morgan33-226-2 CPL Champs
2014Hank Morgan41-156-3 CPL Champs
2015Hank Morgan28-251-2
2016Hank Morgan38-173-2
2017Hank Morgan32-220-1
2018Hank Morgan27-170-1
2019Hank Morgan27-26
2020Hank Morgan17-12
2021Hank Morgan32-110-2
2022Hank Morgan22-24
2023Hank Morgan24-24
2023Hank Morgan34-130-2Overall Record: 577-450-2 .562Pettit Cup Championship: 2

2013: First championship

The 2013 Pilots ended the regular season as the 2nd seed in the East behind the Edenton Steamers. The Pilots opened the playoffs hosting the 3 seed Wilmington Sharks. After allowing the Sharks to come back and win game 1 in Wilmington the Pilots won games 2 and 3 to move on to the next round. In the East Division Championship Series the Pilots faced the 1 seed Edenton Steamers who beat the Fayetteville Swampdogs to advance. The Pilots beat their rivals in 3 games to advance to the Petit Cup Championship. The Pilots made their fourth appearance in the CPL's championship series where they played the Columbia Blowfish and won the series in two games. Game 1 was played at home and ended in a Pilots walk-off win 5-4 on Alex Close's RBI in 10 innings. Game 2 was postponed due to rain in Columbia, SC and was shortened to 7 innings to accommodate the if necessary game 3. Game 2 also went into extra innings ending in 8 innings 2-1 on a Jordan Negrini RBI.

2014: Repeat champions

In 2014 the Pilots finished second in the East during the first half after losing the tie breaker to Edenton but used a 20–8 second-half run to overtake the Steamers and win both the second-half division title but also the number-one overall seed in the playoffs. After a first-round defeat of the Fayetteville Swampdogs, the Pilots advanced to the East Championship, where they defeated the Wilson Tobs to earn a trip back to the title game. In the West the Florence RedWolves won the Division Championship after sweeping regular-season titles and they advanced to face the Pilots. After a quiet game 1 loss to Florence the Pilots rallied to win the next two to clinch the title. In game three the Pilots trailed by one before the RedWolves committed three errors and allowed Peninsula to score eight runs, which sealed the title. During the season the 2014 Pilots became the first CPL team to defeat the USA College National Team by a score of 7–5 in a game where Peninsula trailed 5–0 after four innings. [2]

Notable alumni

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Van Horn</span> American baseball coach

David Kevin Van Horn is an American baseball coach and former infielder, who is the head baseball coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal Plain League</span> US collegiate summer baseball league

The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league, featuring college players recruited from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from the Class D level Coastal Plain League which operated in the area from 1937 to 1952.

The Coastal Plain League was a Minor league baseball affiliated circuit which, except for the war years (1942–1945), operated in North Carolina between 1937 and 1952. It was classified as a "D" league. It grew out of a semi-pro league that operated from 1935 to 1936 under the same Coastal Plain League name. Today, the summer collegiate baseball league has adopted the Coastal Plain League moniker.

The Florence Flamingos are an amateur baseball team that plays in Florence, South Carolina. The Flamingos are part of the Coastal Plain League, the collegiate summer baseball league located in the American Southeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian O'Connor (baseball coach)</span> American college baseball coach

Brian Patrick O'Connor is the head baseball coach of the Virginia Cavaliers. Previously serving as an Associate Head Coach at Notre Dame, he was hired on July 8, 2003, to replace the retiring Dennis Womack. O'Connor has taken the Virginia baseball team to fourteen NCAA baseball tournaments during his 15 seasons in Charlottesville, including the 2009 College World Series, the first in school history; the 2011 College World Series, as the No. 1 national seed; the 2014 College World Series, as the No. 3 national seed; and the 2015 College World Series, which they won and became National Champions for the first time in school history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edenton Steamers</span> Coastal Plain League baseball team

The Edenton Steamers are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Edenton, North Carolina. Beginning in 2020 they will participate in the Tidewater Summer League. 2019 was the Steamers 22nd year as a member of the Coastal Plain League where they won 11 North Division titles and 7 East Division titles, three Petitt Cup Championships, and had a league-record 14-year streak (2004–2017) of posting a winning record, having made a playoff appearance in 13 of those seasons. Edenton also established a CPL standard by winning seven consecutive division-half titles from 2011 through the first half of 2014. In 2015 the Steamers capped the summer with its third Petitt Cup Championship, tied for the league record in that tally, and was named the Summer Collegiate Team of the Year by Perfect Game CrossChecker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asheboro ZooKeepers</span>

The Asheboro ZooKeepers are an amateur baseball team playing in the Coastal Plain League. The team plays its home games at McCrary Park in Asheboro, North Carolina. The team is named for the North Carolina Zoo, which is in Asheboro. They were previously known as the Asheboro Copperheads until changing their name in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gastonia Grizzlies</span>

The Gastonia Grizzlies were a collegiate summer baseball team playing in the Coastal Plain League. The team played its home games at Sims Legion Park in Gastonia, North Carolina, where they were known for their unique promotional events and fireworks shows. It was reported in October 2020 that the team was moving to Spartanburg, South Carolina starting with the 2021 season. The team's new name was announced as the Spartanburgers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Point-Thomasville HiToms</span> Coastal Plain League baseball team

The High Point-Thomasville HiToms are a baseball team in the Coastal Plain League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The HiToms plays its home games at Historic Finch Field in Thomasville, North Carolina. The HiToms were one of the earlier teams to compete in the Coastal Plain League and started competing during the 1999 season. During their inaugural season, the team composed a record of 21 wins and 26 losses. The HiToms currently play in the West Division of the CPL, and are three-time Coastal Plain League Petitt Cup Champions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilmington Sharks</span> Coastal Plain League baseball team

The Wilmington Sharks are an American baseball team in the East Division of the Coastal Plain League (CPL), a collegiate summer baseball league. The Sharks play their home games at Buck Hardee Field at Legion Stadium in Wilmington, North Carolina. Buck Hardee Field is more commonly referred to as "The Shark Tank."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest City Owls</span> Coastal Plain League baseball team

The Forest City Owls are a baseball team in the Coastal Plain League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The team played its inaugural 2008 season in Forest City, North Carolina after the same franchise, owned by Ken Silver, moved from Spartanburg, South Carolina in the offseason. The Owls play their home games at McNair Field, a new baseball stadium constructed near downtown Forest City by the municipal government utilizing town funds, private contributions, and more than $1 million in donations from Robert C. McNair, a Forest City native and owner of the NFL Houston Texans. The Owls won their home debut on Thursday, May 29, 2008, by a score of 4–2 over the Gastonia Grizzlies before 2,675 fans. McNair threw out the first pitch, and the Owls turned an ever-rare triple play in the top of the 6th inning.

Historic Hicks Field is a historic baseball stadium and national historic district located in Edenton, North Carolina,. The stadium is home to the John A. Holmes High School Aces as well as the Edenton Steamers of the Coastal Plain League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morehead City Marlins</span> Coastal Plain League baseball team

The Morehead City Marlins are a collegiate summer baseball team playing in the Coastal Plain League (CPL). The team is based in Morehead City, North Carolina and plays its home games at O'Neal Field at Big Rock Stadium in Morehead City. The team began play in the CPL in the 2010 season and competes in the league's East division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buck Hardee Field at Legion Stadium</span> Baseball venue in Wilmington, North Carolina, United States

Buck Hardee Field at Legion Stadium is a baseball venue in Wilmington, North Carolina, United States. It is home to the New Hanover High School Wildcats baseball team, as well as the Wilmington Sharks of the Coastal Plain League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The stadium, which seats 1,200 with standing room for several hundred more fans, is part of the multi-purpose sports complex known as Legion Stadium, which was also home to the Wilmington Hammerheads professional soccer team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UNC Wilmington Seahawks</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of University of North Carolina Wilmington

The UNC Wilmington (UNCW) Seahawks are the varsity athletic teams representing the University of North Carolina Wilmington in Wilmington, North Carolina in intercollegiate athletics. The university sponsors eight teams for the men and eleven for the women. With the exception of beach volleyball, the Seahawks compete as a non-football member of NCAA Division I and are members of the Coastal Athletic Association.

The Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) is an eight-team collegiate summer baseball league. It has four franchises in Massachusetts, two in Connecticut, and one each in New Hampshire and Vermont.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holly Springs Salamanders</span> Coastal Plain League baseball team

The Holly Springs Salamanders are an amateur baseball team in the Coastal Plain League, collegiate summer baseball league. The team plays its home games at Ting Stadium in Holly Springs, North Carolina. The Salamanders are coached by Brian Rountree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savannah Bananas</span> Baseball team in Savannah, Georgia

The Savannah Bananas is an exhibition barnstorming baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia. The team was founded in 2016 and has played at Grayson Stadium since its inaugural season. Until 2022, the Bananas competed as a collegiate summer baseball team in the Coastal Plain League's (CPL) West division, where they won three Petitt Cup championships. However, after the growth of their alternate "Banana Ball" format, the team transitioned entirely to barnstorming exhibitions against their partner touring teams, the Party Animals, the Firefighters, and other "challenger" professional teams, similar to the decades-long format of basketball's Harlem Globetrotters and their partner touring team, the Washington Generals. The team has been featured by ESPN, The Wall Street Journal, CNN 10, and Sports Illustrated because of its sports entertainment and viral videos.

The Greenville Greenies was the primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Greenville, North Carolina between 1928 and 1951. Greenville teams played as members of the Eastern Carolina League from 1928 to 1929 and Coastal Plain League from 1934 to 1941 and 1946 to 1951.

The Edenton Colonials were a minor league baseball team based in Edenton, North Carolina. In 1951 and 1952, the Colonials played as members of the Class D level Virginia League in 1951 and Coastal Plain League in 1952, winning the 1952 league championship in their final season of play. The Edenton Colonials hosted home games at the Historic Hicks Field.

References

  1. "Peninsula Pilots Statistics and Roster". StatsCrew.com. Stats Crew. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  2. "Pilots upset USA Baseball, 7–5". Coastal Plain League. 29 June 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.