After months of internal discussions and community polls and votes, the Olney Community Baseball Group has decided on a name, CropDusters Baseball.

“It was really important to us to have the community involved throughout this whole process. The community spoke, and we listened. We also thought the name had a unique connection to the local history of farming and agriculture of Olney, while also recognizing the comical side of the satire meaning that will allow us to be unique and marketable. This name came to be after the community vote, and numerous conversations with players, collegiate coaches and other summer collegiate teams who are doing some fun and exciting stuff around the country. We spoke for hours with the owners and coaches of the Savannah Bananas, who urged us to make the naming process community driven, but to make sure that there is a fun element involved also. We think this name gives us that opportunity. Our sole focus is going to be on fan experience and making sure everyone who comes to the park leaves after having a great time. We’re going to have farmers markets at home games, local beers on tap, bales of hay around the park to sit on. It’s going to be an awesome experience.” said Brian Brewer, General Manager of the team.

When asked about the name, Jon Shehan, Head Coach at Millersville University, said, “I can’t wait to buy a hat! I think you need to be a little bit crazy in order to get people in the seats. That has become the name of the game and the landscape of summer college baseball. Players do not want to come play for a boring old summer ball team anymore. They see the things going on around the country and the unique concepts going on in Macon and Savannah, and they want to be a part of it. If Olney can nail this concept, I think it’s a homerun.”

The team will play out of OBGC park, where they will be working to build a stadium in 3 phases for the next few years. Team President Tony Korson said, “At the end of the day, we are only going to be playing in this stadium for 2 months and 20ish games per summer. This stadium is a community owned venue. It is going to allow Olney little leaguers to play on a high level field 10 months a year. It’s going to allow OBGC to run more tournaments, and pull in more teams to their tournaments. It’s going to give the community a fun, family centered experience to bring the family to on a summer night for a fraction of the price of going to a professional game. It allows these younger fans to mingle with these high level college players, get autographs and build relationships. We have kids coming in from University of  Hawaii, Washington State, University of Utah, kids from all over the country. We’re so excited to bring these guys in and introduce them to Olney and show them why we love our community so much. We can’t wait to get started!” #DustedEm

The Olney baseball team has officially selected Cropdusters as the team’s new name, per a post on the team’s Instagram account– @cropdustersbaseball

Back in March we let you know that the Olney Boys and Girls Community Sports Association, in conjunction with Koa Sports, worked out an agreement to bring a baseball team playing in the Cal Ripken Baseball League to the Olney area in the summer of 2022.

Last month the team needed help with potential names recently have narrowed it down to 7 based on suggestions from all of you.

After input from the community, the team has decided to go with Cropdusters– beating out Mechanics, Bat Flippers, Ogres, Gold Rush, Mumbo Jumbo, and Octopi.

The team will compete in the prestigious Cal Ripken Collegiate League and will host high level Collegiate players from all over the country.

Back in March we let you know that the Olney Boys and Girls Community Sports Association, in conjunction with Koa Sports, worked out an agreement to bring a baseball team playing in the Cal Ripken Baseball League to the Olney area in the summer of 2022.

Last month the team needed help with potential names and have narrowed it down to 7 based on suggestions from all of you.

Now you can help choose the name out of the 7 finalists:

• Mechanics

• Crop Dusters

• Bat Flippers

• Ogres

• Gold Rush

• Mumbo Jumbos

• Octopi

You can cast your vote here.

The team will compete in the prestigious Cal Ripken Collegiate League and will host high level Collegiate players from all over the country.

They will open in summer of 2022 and will be playing at OBGC.

Back in March we let you know that the Olney Boys and Girls Community Sports Association, in conjunction with Koa Sports, worked out an agreement to bring a baseball team playing in the Cal Ripken Baseball League to the Olney area in the summer of 2022.

Now you have the opportunity to help name the team!

If you’re interested in providing your input on the name of the team, fill out this brief form.

The team will compete in the prestigious Cal Ripken Collegiate League and will host high level Collegiate players from all over the country.

They will open in summer of 2022 and will be playing at OBGC.

Montgomery County to Bethesda Big Train: 
“Play Ball!”

Per Bethesda Big Train:

Montgomery County has approved the “2021 Return to Play Plan” submitted on April 28, 2021 by the Bethesda Community Base Ball Club (BCBBC) to allow up to 250 fans to attend Bethesda Big Train baseball games at Shirley Povich Field this June and July.

In making the announcement, Big Train Founder Bruce Adams thanked Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, County government staff, and County residents for making the sacrifices necessary to allow this reopening. “I particularly want to thank County Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz and Andrew Friedson for helping guide us through this process,” Adams said.

“With the county’s decision, we will be able to bring the fun back to Shirley Povich Field this summer,” Adams said. “After all the sacrifices our residents have made these last fourteen months, we all deserve the enjoyment of a summer’s night at ballgame.”

The Bethesda Big Train is a team of top level college players playing in the summer wooden bat Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League. The Big Train, named the best summer college baseball team in the nation in 2011, is an eight time Ripken League champion. Sixteen Big Train alumni have made it to the major leagues.

The Big Train Return to Play Plan provides for 250 fans to sit in pods of two, three, and four — socially distanced from other pods of fans. All fans will be masked except while eating or drinking in the picnic pavilion or in their assigned seating pod.

With the support of The Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation, the Big Train will honor a different group of 25 Community Heroes with free tickets at every game this season. “The nurses, community nonprofits, first responders, doctors, grocery store clerks, educators, and delivery personnel who have heroically helped our community through these challenging times deserve a night of fun,” explained Adams.

Adams thanked the leaders of the Ripken League and the members of the Covid-19 task force that produced the Big Train’s 27-page Return to Play Plan, especially BCBBC Vice President Eric Cole, Director of Baseball Operations and Manager Sal Colangelo, and General Manager Chris Rogers.

“Special thanks to Community Radiology Associates and Gelberg Signs for providing the resources we need to make sure we have the signage, protective equipment, sanitizers, and ballpark modifications necessary to protect our fans, players, staff, and volunteers this summer,” said Adams.

Information about buying tickets, scheduling picnics, and sponsoring games will be posted on the Big Train webpage shortly at www.bigtrain.org.

3/26 Update: We incorrectly stated the team was a professional team due to the information we received, but the Cal Ripken Baseball League is an amateur league comprised of college players.

Olney is Getting a Baseball Team in the Cal Ripken League

The Olney Boys and Girls Community Sports Association, in conjunction with Koa Sports, recently announced that they have worked out an agreement to bring a baseball team playing in the Cal Ripken Baseball League to the Olney area in the summer of 2022.

The team will play their home games at the Olney Boys and Girls Club, but a multi-year enhancement plan of what the field will look like when it is finished can be seen in the rendering below.

The first fundraising initiative is detailed below and will be a golf tournament on May 13th at Blue Mash. Golf tournament and sponsorship details can be seen below.