Slippery Rock Sliders | |
---|---|
Team Logo | |
Information | |
League | Prospect League (East Division) |
Location | Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania |
Ballpark | Jack Critchfield Park |
Founded | 2007 (Frontier League), 2009 (Prospect League) |
Former name(s) | Slippery Rock Sliders (2007, 2009-2013) |
Former league(s) | Frontier League (2007) |
Colors | Green, Silver, Black, White |
Ownership | Slippery Rock Sports Group, LLC |
Management | Mike Bencic (GM) |
Manager | Brad Neffendorf |
Media | Aaron Anderson (Web Broadcaster) |
Website | theslipperyrocksliders.com |
The Slippery Rock Sliders were a professional, and later collegiate summer baseball team based in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, in the United States. They were a member of the Frontier League and the East Division of the summer collegiate Prospect League.
The Sliders were formed for the 2007 season to ensure an even number of teams with the Frontier League's addition of the Southern Illinois Miners. The Sliders played a mere 32 home games at Jack Critchfield Park in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, with the remaining 64 played on the road. For the 2008 season, the Sliders became a traveling team, playing all of their games on the road under the geographical moniker, Midwest Sliders.
The Frontier League Sliders' became the Midwest Sliders of Ypsilanti for the 2009 season. That year they played at Eastern Michigan University's Oestrike Stadium located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. In 2010, the team was renamed the Oakland County Cruisers, and moved into the new Diamond at the Summit ballpark. [1] In 2012, the team moved again to London, Ontario and became the London Rippers. The team folded halfway through the season, and once again became a traveling team known as the Road Warriors. The Road Warriors would be the final incarnation of the franchise as the team did not return to any city in the 2013 season.
When the summer-collegiate Prospect League was formed, Slippery Rock was announced as one of the franchise locations. Owner/GM Mike Bencic acquired the Sliders name & logo rights, bringing the ball team back in 2009.
In the 2009 season the Sliders were managed by Chase Rowe, a Slippery Rock University alumnus and current head coach of nearby La Roche College. [2]
Over the next five years the Sliders would form a small rivalry with fellow Butler County PL team the Butler BlueSox. The Sliders ceased operations in Slippery Rock at the end of the 2013 season. The franchise relocated to Springfield, Ohio and were renamed the Champion City Kings.
Slippery Rock Sliders (Frontier League) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | W-L | PCT | Place | Postseason | ||
2007 | 29-66 | .305 | 4th in FL East | |||
2008 | Did Not Play | |||||
Total | 29-66 | .305 | ||||
Slippery Rock Sliders (Prospect League) | ||||||
Year | W-L | PCT | Place | Postseason | ||
2009 | 22-31 | .415 | 5th in PL East | |||
2010 | 21-33 | .389 | 4th in PL East | |||
2011 | 26-29 | .472 | 3rd in PL East | 2-1 L WV Miners | ||
2012 | 20-40 | .333 | 5th in PL East | |||
2013 | ||||||
Total | 89-133 | .401 | ||||
The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The league is headquartered in Sauget, Illinois. In 2020, the Frontier League, together with the American Association and the Atlantic League, became an official MLB Partner League.
The Richmond Roosters were a professional baseball team based in Richmond, Indiana from 1995 to 2005. The Roosters played in the independent Frontier League, which at that time had no affiliation with Major League Baseball.
The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues.
The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternative for those who would not or did not make the roster of a team in the Major Junior Canadian Hockey League (CHL) nor Tier I United States Hockey League (USHL). The NAHL is one of the oldest junior hockey leagues in the United States and is headquartered in Addison, Texas.
The Traverse City Beach Bums were a professional baseball team based in the Traverse City, Michigan suburb of Blair Township from 2006-2018. The Beach Bums played in the independent Frontier League.
Jack Critchfield Park is a stadium in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. It is primarily used for baseball and hosts the Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania college baseball team. The ballpark has a capacity of 1,500 people and opened in 2002.
The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Sanctioned by USA Hockey, for most of the league's existence, the winner of the NA3HL playoffs would advance to play for the Tier III National Championship, however, this has not been held since 2015.
The Springfield Lucky Horseshoes are a collegiate summer league baseball team of the Prospect League. They play at Robin Roberts Stadium at Lanphier Park and are based in the city of Springfield, Illinois. The team was established in November 2007 as the Springfield Sliders and were an expansion franchise for the 2008 season. The Lucky Horseshoes and other collegiate summer leagues and teams exist to give top college players professional-like experience without affecting NCAA eligibility.
Oestrike Stadium is a stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan at Eastern Michigan University. It is named after Ron Oestrike, a former baseball coach at EMU. It is primarily used for baseball, and serves as the Eastern Michigan University Eagles baseball team home field. In addition, it served as the home field of the Midwest Sliders of Ypsilanti Frontier League baseball team in 2009 and 2010. Several present and former major leaguers, including Bob Welch, Bob Owchinko, Bryan Clutterbuck, Pat Sheridan, and Brian Bixler, played at Oestrike Stadium as members of the EMU baseball team.
The Oakland County Cruisers were a professional baseball team based in Waterford Township, Michigan, in the United States. They were a member of the East Division of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. The team became the London Rippers in 2012.
The Prospect League is a collegiate summer baseball league comprising teams of college players from North America and beyond. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. So as to maintain their college eligibility, players are not paid. Beginning in 2012, the league added four games to the season, making a total of 60 games per team.
The Butler BlueSox are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Butler, Pennsylvania, in the United States. They are a member of the Tri-State Collegiate League and were formerly a member of the East Division of the summer collegiate Prospect League.
Gregory Dion Jelks was an American Australian baseball player who played with the Philadelphia Phillies. He spent the majority of his career in the minor leagues, and was most notable playing with the Australia national baseball team and the Perth Heat in the Australian Baseball League.
The London Rippers were a professional baseball team based in London, Ontario, in Canada. The Rippers were a member of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. They played their home games at Labatt Park, and were the second Frontier League team to play their home games in London, following the London Werewolves, which played from 1999 until folding in 2001.
The United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is an American ice hockey league. Founded in 2012, the USPHL has grown to over 60 organizations from across the United States fielding teams in the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC), Premier, Elite, EHF, 18U, 16U, 15U, and High Performance youth divisions.
Several different minor league ballclubs have been based in the town of Danville, Illinois, fielding teams in 38 seasons between 1888 and 1982 under various monikers. The Danville Suns (1982), Danville Dodgers (1975–1976), Danville Warriors (1970–1974), Danville Dans (1951–1954), Danville Dodgers (1946–1950), Danville Veterans (1922–1932), Danville Speakers, Danville Old Soldiers (1906), Danville Champions (1900) and Danville Browns were the minor league teams. Danville teams played at Soldiers Home Park (1922–1932) and Danville Stadium (1946–1982).
The Champion City Kings are a college summer baseball team located in Springfield, Ohio. The Kings are a member of the East Division of the wood bat Prospect League and have been a member since 2013. The Kings play at Carleton Davidson Stadium, which is also the home of the NCAA DIII Wittenberg University Tigers.
The Northern League is a collegiate summer baseball league consisting of teams in Indiana. It was named the Midwest Collegiate League (MCL) from 2010 to 2021.
The Hannibal Hoots were a collegiate summer league baseball team in the United States Prospect League. The team played two seasons in the league, but only one of those seasons saw them use Hannibal as its home; flooding along the Mississippi River caused Bear Creek, which flows into the river and runs alongside the Hoots' home stadium, to flood the stadium. As a result, the Hoots played their 2019 home schedule in nearby Quincy, Illinois at the home stadium of the Quincy Gems. The Hoots formed in late 2017 and were an expansion franchise for the 2018 season. The Hoots and other collegiate summer leagues and teams exist to give top college players professional-like experience without affecting NCAA eligibility.
The Midwest Football League (MFL) was a low-level professional American football minor league that played games from 1962 to 1978. The league was based mainly in Michigan, until the collapse of the Continental Football League in 1969, when it became more of a regional league.