BASEBALL ACROSS THE BORDER

By Bridget Rowe
For Weekly Surge

Baseball fans know university stadiums aren't the only place to see great college games. Two-year schools, commonly known as junior colleges, also have a long tradition of fielding solid teams, and as of February, there's a new one in the area. Between Wilmington, N.C. and Myrtle Beach, Brunswick Community College in Supply, N.C. has launched a long-awaited baseball program. The Dolphins are midway through their first season marking a journey to what local fans hope to be a solid sports tradition.

"Many people in the community and school wanted a baseball team for years," said Robbie Allen, Brunswick Community College (BCC) head baseball coach. After college he became a professional baseball player in the L.A. Dodgers organization. Allen joined the BCC baseball project five years ago with the goal of fielding a team this spring. Recruiting began last year, drawing 18 players into the program. February 9, the Dolphins played their first game. "It has finally happened," Allen said.

Despite losing the season-opener to USC-Sumter, the Dolphins have won 10 of 20 games this season, matching up against some of the strongest teams in the Division II Region X conference, which includes Southeastern Community College, Lenoir Community College and Stanly Community College. The team has traveled extensively in its first season, playing teams as far away as Maryland. "It's good for the kids to travel and play against other schools," Allen said. "It teaches them a lot."

For the 18 players recruited to the Dolphins team, choosing a junior college over a four-year university can be good for their sports careers. Athletes enter a junior college with the option of transferring to four-year institutions or graduating with a two-year degree and being drafted into the pros. A junior college serves as a great place for a player to get academic prerequisites out of the way before going to a four-year institution, all the while working hard on the field to build stronger athletic skills.

The National High School Baseball Coaches Association explains that junior colleges offer distinct advantages on the field, too: Students who choose the university route to an education may not get the hands-on attention from coaches, and many will spend their first two years of college in the dugout instead of on the field. Junior college players tend to spend those two years on the field playing, building skills athletically and academically.

Junior college players also enjoy a higher likelihood of being drafted by pro teams. A player can be drafted into the pros immediately after high school and if that draft fails he cannot be drafted again until his junior year at a university. Players at two-year schools, on the other hand, are eligible for drafting after their first and second years of school. This means a junior college athlete has a total of three opportunities to be drafted.

According to National High School Baseball Coaches Association, two years ago 20 percent of players drafted into the pros came from junior colleges. Ramon Vazquez is an example of this reality: the former Indian Hills Community College baseball player from Iowa has recently been drafted by the Texas Rangers. And St. Louis Cardinals' slugger Albert Pujols, widely regarded as the best player in baseball, graduated from Maple Woods Community College in Missouri.

Coach Allen said there are many "open doors" for his players to get drafted. BCC is growing, and Allen believes the presence of a baseball team will help that growth flourish. BCC's athletic program is growing, and although the baseball team currently plays its homes games at West Brunswick High School, "we are raising money for the stadium and are looking for sponsors to help support the baseball team," he said. With solid support from the community, it seems likely the Dolphins' ball field will eventually be built. "I am looking forward to the future," said Allen. "The bigger the athletic department, the bigger the school. Athletics makes a school grow."

Visit www.brunswickcc.edu for further information and the 2008 schedule.