HCPS to Celebrate Inaugural Middle School Baseball Season with Opener

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (Feb. 15, 2019) – Celebrating the inaugural baseball season for middle schools in the district, Henderson County Public Schools is hosting a “Middle School Baseball Opener” on Saturday, Feb. 23, at the newly renovated field at Blue Ridge Community College.

“We haven’t played middle school baseball in Henderson County before,” said HCPS Chief Human Resources Officer W. Scott Rhodes. “Now, we’re going to be able to do so because of the leadership of our school board, county commissioners, and other community gamechangers.”

For the first time in district history, HCPS middle schoolers will be able to play ball with their peers in the Blue Ridge Athletic Conference, beginning this season. The joint effort to bring baseball to middle schools has been a year-long process, involving HCPS athletic directors and maintenance staff, as well as Hendersonville Public Works, Henderson County Parks & Recreation, and BRCC officials.

“To make this feasible, we had to have places to play,” said Rhodes. “The biggest challenge was finding places to play that we would call ‘Home.’”

Thanks to the an agreement with BRCC and funding from the county, the field on the community campus adjacent to the Innovative High Schools has been renovated and will serve as Home Field for Flat Rock and Apple Valley middle schools. The City of Hendersonville is allowing Rugby and Hendersonville middle schools to use Berkeley Park as their Home Field, and Henderson County Parks & Recreation is ensuring at least two fields will be available at Jackson Park for the teams to practice.

“This is a great example of our community, once again, coming together to meet a need of our students,” said Rhodes.

To celebrate with the middle school teams, and to thank the individuals who collaborated on this undertaking, HCPS is holding a “season opener” on Saturday, Feb. 23. Opening ceremonies with invited officials will begin at 10 a.m., followed by team introductions and the National Anthem. First pitch is at 11 a.m., with scrimmage games following this schedule:

11 a.m. – noon: Flat Rock Middle vs. Apple Valley Middle
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.: Rugby Middle vs. Hendersonville Middle
2 – 3 p.m.: Apple Valley Middle vs. Rugby Middle
3:30 – 4:30 p.m.: Hendersonville Middle vs. Flat Rock Middle

In case of inclement weather, a rain date of March 2 has been scheduled.

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