Baseball league set this fall at Epling – Beckley Register-Herald

The fall season is an important component to a successful college baseball program. It gives coaches a chance to prepare for the upcoming recruiting season.

“That’s why junior college programs use the showcase format in the fall so the players have a better chance at getting scholarships or up their draft status,” West Virginia Miners manager Tim Epling said. “Exposure is what it’s all about. The more you are seen the more likely you will know where you stand at the end of your junior or senior year.”

Along those lines, area high school players will have the same type of opportunity.

Epling recently announced plans for a fall baseball league at Linda K. Epling Stadium. The wooden bat league will begin play Sunday, Sept. 3.

“Any teams that want to participate can. All the players have to come from that particular high school,” Epling said. “We have wooden bats provided for them.”

Rising eighth-graders are also permitted to play.

“We hope that all the high schools will participate,” Epling said. “We hope to have (at least) 8-9 teams.”

The league is about more than competition. It’s also about getting players noticed.

“We want players to know this is also to get college coaches to come watch these players in the fall,” Epling said. “We have numerous colleges wanting to come in here and take a look at the players for the upcoming years. This will be a great opportunity for guys to get work and be able to keep busy.”

And arm health will be of the utmost importance, as is always the case for Epling.

“We’re going to keep watch on their arms as far as making sure they are taken care of,” he said. “We’re going to work them out a little bit and show them some things that really help develop their arms. That’s one of the biggest dilemmas that we are facing right now.”

The cost to enter the league is $1,000 per team.

“Then each team pays for one umpire, $30, at the time of the game,” Epling said. “That will take care of the lights, that takes care of field prep and all the maintenance on everything. And the insurance and that kind of things.”

There is also a need for former high school baseball players who plan to be college coaches to help with the league.

For more information, call 304-673-2519.

— Email: gfauber@register-herald.com and follow on Twitter @GaryFauber