Coastal Plain League

For other uses, see Coastal Plain League (disambiguation).

Coastal Plain League

Sport	Baseball
Founded	1997
No. of teams	15
Country(ies)	United States
Most recent champion(s)	Gastonia Grizzlies
Most titles	Thomasville Hi-Toms (3)
Official website	www.coastalplain.com

The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat collegiate summer league, featuring college players from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from a Class D minor league baseball league which operated in the same area from 1937 to 1952.^[1] The modern league was formed with six teams in 1997.^[2] The league currently comprises fifteen teams across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The expansion Morehead City Marlins will begin play in 2010.

The 2009 Coastal Plain League champions were the Forest City (NC) Owls. The Owls were also voted as the top collegiate summer team in the country.^[3] In 2010, the CPL will feature a three-round playoff system. The 2010 All-Star Game will be in Forest City.

History

Founding

The league was founded in 1997 by Pete Bock. Bock conceived the idea in the early 1990s while traveling long distances to the Valley Baseball League in Virginia to see his son, Jeff, play summer baseball. Bock, an experiences sports executive, wanted a collegiate summer league closer to his home. He acted on this and the Coastal Plain league began play for the 1997 season.^[4]

Past Champions

Petitt Cup Years

Year	Pettit Cup Winner	Runner-Up	Series Result	North Division winner	South Division winner	West Division winner
2010	Forest City	Edenton	2 games to 1	Wilson	Morehead City	Forest City
2009	Forest City	Peninsula	2 games to 0	Peninsula	Wilson	Forest City
2008	Thomasville	Florence	7-4	Edenton	Florence	Thomasville
2007	Thomasville	Peninsula	4-3	Edenton	Fayetteville	Thomasville
2006	Thomasville	Peninsula	6-1	Edenton	Fayetteville	Martinsville
2005	Edenton	Florence	9-1	Edenton	Fayetteville	Spartanburg
2004	Edenton	Outer Banks	13-2	Edenton	Wilson	Thomasville
2003	Outer Banks	Florence	7-2	Petersburg	Durham	Thomasville
2002	Outer Banks	Petersburg	10-6	Outer Banks	Wilmington	Gastonia

Playoff seedings based on overall record, so division champions listed are based on overall record.

Pre-Petitt Cup

Year	Winner	Runner-Up	Series Result	North Division winner	South Division winner
2001	Durham[5]			Wilson	Fayetteville
2000	Petersburg			Petersburg	Asheboro
Year	Winner	Runner-Up	Series Result	First Half winner	Second Half winner
1999	Wilmington	Outer Banks		Wilmington	Outer Banks
1998	Wilmington	Rocky Mount		Rocky Mount	Wilmington
1997	Raleigh	Wilson	2 games to 0	Raleigh	Wilson

Teams

Coastal Plain League
North Division			South Division			West Division
Team	City	Stadium	Team	City	Stadium	Team	City	Stadium
Edenton Steamers	Edenton, NC	Historic Hicks Field	Columbia Blowfish	Columbia, SC	Capital City Stadium	Asheboro Copperheads	Asheboro, NC	McCrary Park
Outer Banks Daredevils	Kill Devil Hills, NC	First Flight Baseball Complex	Fayetteville Swampdogs	Fayetteville, NC	J. P. Riddle Stadium	Forest City Owls	Forest City, NC	McNair Field
Peninsula Pilots	Hampton, VA	War Memorial Stadium	Florence Red Wolves	Florence, SC	American Legion Field	Gastonia Grizzlies	Gastonia, NC	Buddy Lewis Field at Sims Legion Park
Petersburg Generals	Petersburg, VA	Petersburg Sports Complex	Morehead City Marlins	Morehead City, NC	O'Neal Field at Big Rock Stadium	Martinsville Mustangs	Martinsville, VA	Hooker Field
Wilson Tobs	Wilson, NC	Fleming Stadium	Wilmington Sharks	Wilmington, NC	Buck Hardee Field at Legion Stadium	Thomasville Hi-Toms	Thomasville, NC	Historic Finch Field

Former Teams

• Durham Americans (2001–03, formerly Durham Braves)
• Durham Braves (1997–2000, renamed Durham Americans)
• New Bern River Rats (2005–07)
• Raleigh Red Wolves (1997, moved to Florence)
• Rocky Mount Rockfish (1997–98)
• Spartanburg Stingers (2003-07, moved to Forest City)

References

1. ^ Baseball Reference Coastal Plain League History
2. ^ Keith Parsons, AP Sports, July 18, 2005
3. ^ 2008 Petitt Cup Tournament
4. ^ Today’s CPL at coastalplain.com, URL accessed November 24, 2009. Archived 11/24/09
5. ^ http://www.researchtriangle.org/pages.php?page1=52&page2=106&page3=115&page_id=115

External links

• Official site