Marlins introduced as latest addition to summer baseball league

MOREHEAD CITY — The New Bern River Rats baseball team closed shop after the summer of 2007, and owner Sabrina Bengel took two years off to assess options.

Bengel was searching for a suitable facility to host games in the Coastal Plain League — a summer college baseball league — and she found just that in Morehead City. During a press conference Thursday, the Morehead City Marlins were introduced as the latest addition to the CPL.

League president Pete Bock made the formal announcement and introduced Bengel as the team president and her son, Buddy, as the team’s vice president.

“We needed a first-class facility and there was a lack of a facility in New Bern,” said Buddy Bengel, a New Bern grad and former Quinnipiac University pitcher. “The league demands nothing but first class, and they required a first-class facility. Morehead has done an unbelievable job providing that for us.”

 For three summers, from 2005-2007, the River Rats played baseball at New Bern High School’s Boykin Field. Beer sales weren’t permitted on school grounds.

That won’t be a problem at Morehead City’s Big Rock Stadium, a 12.5-acre baseball facility built on Mayberry Loop Road near the Rotary Park Soccer Complex. Morehead City native V.J. “Puck” O’Neal and his wife, Pearl, donated $100,000 toward the facility’s construction.

Morehead City also received $400,000 in state and federal money for the stadium’s funding.

 “We think this is a ready-made market,” Sabrina Bengel said. “With the vacation-market at the beach and the tourists, there are not a lot of entertainment options anymore. This offers an opportunity for visitors to catch a ballgame, have a hot dog, drink a beer and take up America’s national pastime.”

The Marlins will compete in the CPL’s South Division. The CPL is a wooden-bat league that consists of 15 teams from North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

“We are showcasing the young stars of tomorrow,” Sabrina said. “This is the purest form of baseball. These kids are out here for the pure love, just trying to get to the next step. They are playing their hearts out.”

In three seasons, the River Rats had a record of 64-98. New Bern grads David Towarnicky, Adam Warren, Matt Sanders and Patrick Ball played for the local team.

Buddy Bengel played two seasons in the CPL with Petersburg. He also played for a professional team in Rimini, Italy.

“Buddy was probably instrumental in getting this up and going,” Sabrina said. “He understands the game, knows the game and I’m the business side of it. Together we are working together to bring something fun with family entertainment.”

The Marlins begin play May 26 and host Fayetteville for the home-opener May 28.

They will be led by manager Jay Bergman, who has won more than 1,200 games in 32 seasons with the University of Central Florida and the University of Florida.

While operating the River Rats, the Bengels were instrumental in bringing in legendary baseball players, such as Harman Killebrew, Steve Garvey and Ferguson Jenkins, to events in New Bern.

In January, Hall of Fame pitcher Goose Gossage will be the guest of the “Hot Stove Banquet.”

Adam Thompson can be reached at 252-635-5670 or at athompson@freedomenc.com.