Rumble at the Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach

The third annual “Rumble at The Ballpark” welcomed 80 wrestlers to The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach this past weekend.  There were 13 weight classes in the high school division, while the college-age division featured three brackets.  All champions brought home a commemorative baseball bat.  Read more view photo here.  Visit Facebook page here.

OOB Surge Relocate to New York, Can-Am and EPBL to Battle in Series

The Old Orchard Beach Surge (Independent Professional, Empire Professional Baseball League) have relocated from The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach (ME) to Saranac Lake (NY).  The team will be known as the Saranac Lake Surge.  Read more here.  In other news, the The Can-Am League (Independent Professional) announced last week that the EPBL’s all-star team, the Empire League Grays, will play four games against the 2018 Can-Am League champion Sussex County Miners.  Read more here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the heads up.

High School Wresting ‘Rumble at The Ballpark’ Returns to OOB

High school and college wrestlers will head to The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach, home of the Old Orchard Beach Surge (Independent Professional, Empire League), this summer as the Rumble at The Ballpark is returning to the historic venue for the second straight year.  Read more here.  Sign up here.

A Look Back at the Triple-A Maine Guides

This small coastal town is a summer vacation destination, known across New England and Quebec for its amusement park, pier and plentiful bars. For most of the year, it’s a quiet place, populated with fewer than 10,000 people living across approximately eight square miles.  Read more and view photos here.  Visit ballpark website here.

Surge to Return to The Ballpark in OOB in 2018

The Old Orchard Beach Surge (Independent Professional, Empire League) will be back at The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach (ME) for another season. The Town Council voted unanimously to approve a 2018 contract with the franchise.  Read more  here.

Empire Pro League Loses Two, Adds Two

Billing itself as the “#1 Feeder League in the Country” (for the independent professional baseball powers), the second-year Empire Pro League has added the Puerto Rico Islanders and Plattsburgh Red Birds to replace the Watertown Bucks and New Hampshire Wild for the 2017 season.  The teams join the Sullivan Explorers and Old Orchard Beach Surge to make up the four-team circuit.  Read more here and here.

Operations Manager Looks to Keep Once-Neglected Ballpark Busy

Guy Fontaine, operations manager of The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach (ME), home of the Old Orchard Beach Surge (Independent Professional, Empire League), sees a lot of potential when he looks at the facility. Read more here.

Surge to Return in 2016?

The North Country Baseball League has folded after one season, but the Old Orchard Beach Surge might be back next summer.  Alex Markakis, the general manager of the Surge, said an announcement is expected in the next few weeks. Read more here.

ECBL Folds, North Country Baseball League Formed

No surprise here, but the start-up East Coast Baseball League has crashed and burned before playing a single inning, thanks to overly confident, novice founder Colin Cummins.  In fact, he admitted to the Portland Press Herald, “It’s my fault.”  Yes it is, and he was warned, no matter the excuse about losing a “chief investor.”  Picking up the pieces, Watertown Bucks owner Bruce Zicari decided to

The ‘Surge’ Coming to Old Orchard Beach

The town of Old Orchard Beach (ME), the Ballpark commission, and the start-up East Coast Baseball League have reached an agreement to bring a franchise to The Ballpark this summer.  Read more here.  The team will be known as the Surge.

Great day in Old Orchard Beach. Lisa MacNeill is the winner of the Name the Team Contest. Please welcome SURGE. pic.twitter.com/7AaL0K2lNF

Great day in Old Orchard Beach. Lisa MacNeill is the winner of the Name the Team Contest. Please welcome SURGE. pic.twitter.com/7AaL0K2lNF

— Niagara ProBaseball (@niagaraproball) February 22, 2015

Start-Up ECBL Eyes OOB

The owner of a fledgling East Coat Baseball League based in Canada is interested in bringing a team to Old Orchard Beach (ME) to play next summer at The Ballpark, after the summer collegiate Old Orchard Beach Raging Tide (Futures Collegiate Baseball League) were sold and moved to Bristol (CT).  Read more here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the link.