Global InformationForest City Owls information
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| Forest City Owls | |
| |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Home Field | McNair Field |
| Based in | Forest City, North Carolina |
| Colors | Forest Green and Gold |
| League | Coastal Plain League |
| League Titles | 2009, 2010 |
| Majority Owner | Phil Dangel |
| Minority Owner | Rob Frost |
| General Manager | Stephanie Blatnicky |
| Head coach | Connor Dailey |
| Assistant coach | Tripp Hamrick |
The Forest City Owls are a baseball team in the Coastal Plain League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The team played its inaugural 2008 season in Forest City, North Carolina after the same franchise (previously known as the Stingers), owned by Ken Silver, moved from Spartanburg, South Carolina in the offseason. The Owls play their home games at McNair Field, a new baseball stadium constructed near downtown Forest City by the municipal government utilizing town funds, private contributions, and more than $1 million in donations from Robert C. McNair, a Forest City native and owner of the NFL Houston Texans. The Owls won their home (and season) debut on Thursday, May 29, 2008, by a score of 4–2 over the Gastonia Grizzlies before 2,675 fans. McNair threw out the first pitch, and the Owls turned an ever-rare triple play in the top of the 6th inning.
In the 2009 season, the Owls won the Petitt Cup, the Coastal Plain League title, after going 51–9 in 60 games during the regular season and postseason. Forest City's 22–2 start, 24 first-half victories, 25 wins at home, and 46 regular-season wins all were CPL records. The Owls were also voted as the No. 1 collegiate summer team in the country, courtesy of pgcrosschecker.com.[citation needed]
On January 27, 2011 it was announced that the Owls had been selected by USA Baseball to host Team Japan on July 1, 2011.[1]
In the 2011 season, the Owls went back to the CPL playoffs to defend their back-to-back titles. The Owls fell in the second round to the Gastonia Grizzlies. The 2011 season was highlighted by the July 1, 2011 game of Team Japan vs. the Forest City Owls. Over 3,700 fans attended the game and witnessed the first-ever international game to be played at McNair Field. The Owls fell 8–1 to Team Japan but came back to have a 30–25 overall record for 2011. Over 64,400 fans walked through the gates at McNair Field that season. [citation needed]
In September 2015, Mr. Silver sold The Owls to Phil Dangel from Knoxville, Tennessee.[2] In 2017, The Owls led The CPL with the most victories for the entire season, winning both the first and second half. They also were recognized by the All-Star committee by having 5 all-stars as well as the coach, Matt Reed, was selected to coach The Western Division All-Stars.
- ^ "Coastal Plain League: The Nation's Hottest Summer Collegiate Baseball League". www.coastalplain.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-20.
- ^ "Forest City Owls". Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-11-19.