OLD ORCHARD BEACH — It may not look or feel like baseball weather right now in southern Maine, but the season is rapidly approaching — and The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach is getting ready for a busy summer.
The Ballpark has a packed schedule in 2019, including the Greater Northeast Collegiate Baseball League returning to the historic stadium for a third straight summer.
The GNCBL provides an opportunity for college baseball players — from the Division I to Division III levels — to improve their game during the summer months.
“The genesis of the league was the fact that there was no good place for the guys to come back and play in the summer time where they didn’t have to do a lot of traveling,” said GNCBL founder Max Salevsky.
While leagues like the NECBL and Futures League focus on bringing in Division I talent, Salevsky wanted to build an organization that provided opportunities for all college players — especially those from Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
“We have not just southern Maine guys, but Maine guys period, from Bangor on down. We have eastern New Hampshire and North Shore (Massachusetts) guys. They are predominantly Division II and III players,” said Salevsky. “We have some junior college players as well as D1 players. That’s the nice thing about it because there was really no place for these guys who didn’t get placed by their college coaches.”
Salevsky believes the lack of travel gives players in the GNCBL a chance to do other things in the summer as well as play against some strong competition.
“In this situation, they can be in a relatively close range of all the ball parks. We are here (at The Ballpark), USM, SMCC and St. Joe’s. The student athletes can come back and entertain having a good job schedule to make some money,” Salevsky said. “They are all college students, as well as doing any kind of internships and just generally being home. They are away for two semesters out of the year and a lot of them like to be home rather than doing the traveling.”
The GNCBL, which consists of five teams, also features coaching staffs that are made up of college-level coaches.
“The other thing was it was important to us to have college coaches. Everybody we have has college ties, assistant coaches or guys that eventually want to become a head coach. That gives the kids another layer of what they see during their regular season,” said Salevsky. “They can take that, work on their skill set and go back in the fall and make their college team that much (better).”
The league has also allowed some local high school graduates, who will be competing at the college level the next season, a chance to get better before they make their big move.
“That is a big part of this. It’s a good place for those guys who are local to be honing their skills,” said Salevsky, who has seen kids from Thornton Academy, Gorham and Bonny Eagle compete in the GNCBL.
Salevsky is thrilled to call The Ballpark home each summer.
“Obviously, it passes the eye test. These guys say, ‘hey look, this is what we’re playing at in school, we come here and we’re playing in a real ball park. We aren’t in a back lot somewhere,’” said Salevsky. “The field is groomed very nice all year long. It affords these guys an ability to come and play at the same level during their school season.”
Salevsky is hoping to keep the GNCBL going for years to come.
“It’s a great deal and I want to build on that and I want that to grow. No matter who is doing this league, whether it’s me or somebody else, I want this league to have legs for a long time,” said Salevsky.

Surge not coming back in 2019
While the GNCBL will be returning for another summer, one team that you won’t see at The Ballpark is the Old Orchard Beach Surge.
The Surge, an independent minor league club that has called The Ballpark home for the past few years, will not be back in 2019.

Busy season ahead
The Ballpark has a packed schedule for the 2019 season, including teams like the Southern Maine River Rats holding several games and tournaments at the stadium.
The River Rats, based out of Hitters Count in Saco, will host the Battle at the Beach tournament from May 31 to June 2 with The Ballpark being used as the primary field.
Other teams like the Saco Bay Blue Devils and the Old Orchard Beach High School program will also use The Ballpark several times in 2019.
Another special event scheduled for The Ballpark this year is the third annual Rumble at The Ballpark high school and college wrestling tournament, which is set for Saturday, July 20.
The annual OOB Blues Festival (Aug. 31), the New England Parkinson’s Ride (Sept. 6-7) and the Working Dog Championship will also be back at The Ballpark in 2019.
The Ballpark will also host free concerts on Thursday nights in August.
For more information on 2019 events go to www.oobballpark.com or call Ballpark Operations Manager Guy Fontaine at 207-205-6160.
— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 780-9017. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.