Need a baseball fix? Sports Force's summer college baseball league is an option

PERKINS TWP. -- Major League Baseball is more than three weeks from starting its much-discussed 2020 season, but there is some quality baseball already being played on diamonds boasting big-league dimensions. The Sandusky Bay Summer Collegiate League is entering its second week of play at Sports Force Parks. About 70 college players from around the country have congregated at the facility. More than a dozen of the players who make up four rosters are from Division I colleges. The team names are a nod to local summer culture: Sandusky Seagulls, Bay Boaters, Erie Island Hoppers and Sandtown Anglers. "It turned into something way bigger athlete-wise," said Mitch Sweet, Sport Force's events coordinator. "It's termed as a developmental league, but a lot of these kids needed a home. "I knew it would be competitive, but it's really good baseball. We didn't know the talent level of guys coming in, but it's exceeded our expectations." Sports Force obtained contact lists from summer college leagues that canceled their seasons and also advertised the league on social media. The result: rosters with quality college talent. "It's not like we got the 23rd or 24th guys on a roster," said Ray Neill, the general manager of the Sandusky Bay Ice Haulers summer collegiate team who helped organize the league. "We're putting a good product on the field. If you need a good baseball fix, you can get in there and watch great college baseball for a great price." That price would be free. After the Fourth of July weekend, the league will resume its Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday schedule with games at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. All four teams also will be part of the Bob Gray Showcase at the Field of Dreams near Vickery on July 18. This week, the four teams will play a round-robin tournament on Wednesday. The championship game will be played about noon with the winner advancing to play a summer college team from Cleveland under the Sports Force lights on July 8. Among the athletes playing at Sports Force this summer is Casey Candiotti, a rising senior pitcher at Saint Mary's College in California and the son of Tom Candiotta, who spent six of his 16 big-league seasons pitching for the Cleveland Indians. Schools such as Michigan State, Indiana, Bowling Green and Kent State have players in the league. Two area high school graduates -- Cam Farrar (Clyde, University of Findlay) and Ridge Clark (Vermilion, Heidelberg) -- are also playing. "We have kids from all over," Sweet said. "It ended up being really cool. When (summer) leagues started canceling they turned over their contact lists. To be honest, I didn't think we'd get a kid from Billings, Montana, but we did." Many of the players are living in the Cedar Point employee dorms and are working for the amusement park when they're not playing ball. "The kids can make some money, too," Sweet said. "We were thankful that Cedar Point was willing to work with us." The players also have access to an indoor, turfed facility at the old Ohio Electric building on Sycamore Line in Sandusky. There are four batting cages in the building. "It's just not showing up at game time," Neill said. "It's about going over there and getting in some swings." Getting in some swings is the goal of all baseball players these days -- no matter the level of play. "According to all the (college) coaches, these guys needed to see live pitching and fielding," Sweet said. "It's the first time since February that some of them have been able to do any of that stuff." Sweet said the league, which was formed after the coronavirus outbreak halted spring sports and most college summer leagues, could become an annual summer staple. The league also could benefit the Ice Haulers, who were supposed to make their debut this year before the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League scrapped its season. "Eventually it will turn into a feeder system for the Great Lakes team," Sweet said. "These kids will filter up to the Ice Haulers." ----- Free baseball Area fans can watch Sandusky Bay Summer Collegiate League games at Sports Force Parks for free on July weekdays. Future game days/times: July 1 -- Round-robin tournament starting at 9 a.m., ending in the afternoon July 7-8-9 -- Games at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. July 14-15-16 -- Games at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. July 28 -- Games at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. July 30 -- Final day. Eight games beginning at 9 a.m. Championship game at approximately 1:30 p.m.