Team Looking to Compete for Sunbelt League Championship
(BROOKHAVEN, GA) The Brookhaven Bucks return to the diamond for a new season in the Sunbelt Baseball League. The Bucks will host the Sunbelt Patriots on Opening Night, Friday, June 2nd, on their home field at Oglethorpe University. First pitch will be at 7:00 p.m.
Head Coach Corey Patterson, who played Major League Baseball for 12 seasons, returns for his third season with the Bucks.
Patterson has been busy this winter and spring recruiting players for the team. “I’ve spent a lot of time looking for the right guys for the 2017 team. I’m very confident in this group of young men,” said Patterson when asked about this year’s team.
The Bucks will return Dalton Light (Junior/IF/Richmond), Zavier Lushington (Junior/OF/Undecided after completing coursework at Central Alabama), Matt Phillips (Senior/RHP/Undecided after graduating from Georgia Tech), and Connor Stutts (Junior/OF/Alabama) from the 2016 team. Luke Johnson (Senior/RHP/Butler) pitched for the Bucks in 2015 and will be back on the mound for the team in 2017.
Newcomers who look to make an impact include Dylan Biumi (Senior/RHP/Western Carolina), Blake Crossing (Sophomore/IF/Dartmouth), Jonathan Hughes (Junior/RHP/Georgia Tech), Andrew Mink (Junior/C/Oglethorpe), and Bryan White (Senior/RHP/Georgia State).
Coach Patterson has added Kyle Farnsworth, a 16-year Major League Baseball pitcher, to the team as the Pitching Coach. Farnsworth and Patterson played baseball with each other growing up in the Atlanta area and again when they were both members of the Chicago Cubs. Coach Aaron Patterson will be back for his third year as the Bucks hitting coach.
The Bucks roster is made up of current college players who are pursuing baseball at the next level. Several former Bucks are currently playing professionally, including London Lindley (Texas Rangers, Class A), Touki Toussaint (Atlanta Braves, Class A), Kevin Steen (Boston Red Sox, Class A), Matt Rose (Chicago Cubs, Class A), and Will Solomon (Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks, American Association of Independent Professional Baseball).
“We’re looking for the Bucks to have our best year yet. We’re very fortunate to have such a supportive community around us and we’re looking to provide another year of great baseball for our fans,” said Bucks Owner and General Manager Brad Dickison.
The Brookhaven Bucks are members of the Sunbelt League, a summer collegiate wooden-bat league with teams in Georgia (Alpharetta, Brookhaven, Carrollton, Norcross, Lawrenceville, Suwanee and Waleska) and Alabama (Phenix City). Bucks home games are played at Oglethorpe University. The Sunbelt League season starts June 2nd and ends with league playoffs July 24th-August 1st. Primrose School of Brookhaven is the Bucks lead sponsor.
Learn more about the Brookhaven Bucks at brookhavenbucks.com, at facebook.com/brookhavenbucks, on Twitter @BrookhavenBucks or on Instagram @Brookhaven.Bucks. For information about the Sunbelt League, please visit www.sunbeltleague.com.