The Villages Baseball Club, a member of the Mid Florida Senior Baseball League, opened its 2015 season this weekend at Millennium Park in Wildwood against the Orlando Mariners.
As the team got ready to take the field they huddled by the home team dugout with an American Flag in the background waving in the breeze. The flag was donated by team member Jim Cote, a combat veteran of Afghanistan, who presented the flag he had flown while serving our country in the U.S. Army at his FOB (forward operating base).
The first pitch of the game was a strike delivered by Villages Baseball Club starting pitcher Randy Pawlowski of the Village of Tamarind Grove.
The score went back in forth with Orlando taking the early lead only to be overtaken in the middle innings by the bats of the home team. Orlando again took the lead in the later innings. The Villages Club team rallied in the bottom of the 9th inning, only to come up one run short.
In the second game VBC beat the Orlando team to split their opening day doubleheader.
Mike Blankenship, Villages Baseball Club manager, said the club was founded in 2013. They started out by renting a field at Lake-Sumter State College.
“The City of Wildwood City Commissioners and the Parks & Recreation Department were gracious in allowing VBC the park area on which our field is built,” Blankenship said.
The land was originally an abandoned softball field which the team has transformed into a full size regulation baseball field through hard work by team members. Renovations are ongoing with Spar Lumber recently donating wood which is being used to build dugouts.
The Villages Baseball Club is always looking for new players, and spectators are always welcome at the games. The club practices at the field Tuesdays at 10 a.m., and Thursdays at 2 p.m. New players are welcome to join in the practices.
To view their 2015 schedule, directions to their field, and other information go to their website at www.villagesbaseball.com
