If anyone has ever considered being a host family and wonders why we do it or how it can be so rewarding, take a look at this photo:

Justin Crump played for the Rebels in 2016, and he’s been just down the road from New Market in Harrisonburg, VA this week playing in the CAA tournaments for UNC Wilmington. Justin and his mom Christina made sure to let his Rebel Host Mom Joanne Burns know that he was going to be playing in the area! Joanne is our host family coordinator, and though she’s busier than you can imagine preparing for the 2019 season, she made the trip down to JMU to see not one; but two of these tournament games! This is clearly because the connection built between host family and player is special and valuable, and it often leads to lasting relationships and precious memories!

■ Anna Lawrence

DII

The University of Tampa is the only team with former New Market Rebels on the roster to advance to the Super Regional round.
The #1 seed Spartans earned the South I Regional championship the hard way with a 12 inning 6-5 win over #5 NOVA Southeastern.
The Spartans out-hit the Sharks 15-8. 2017
2017 Rebel Kevin Pimentel pitched seven shut-out innings in the Spartans 9-1 win over West Florida on Friday to up his season record to 11-2. 
2017 New Market Rebel Alec Aleywine (1B/DH) went 0-for-3 in the Regional set.
UT will host South II Regional champion Delta State U in the best-of-three Super Regional round starting Friday (24th). UT is seeking
its first national championship since 2015. 

The Valdosta State Blazers season ended with a 9-6 loss to #5 Delta State in the South II Regional Championship game, concluding a
32-23 campaign. We wish pitchers Trevin Eubanks and Call Graham, both 2018 Champion Rebels, the best of success in their future
baseball endeavors.

Lincoln Memorial University dropped an 8-3 decision to Southeast Regional champ #1 seed North Greenville. The Railsplitters finished
with a 34-19 record. The Rebels family wish C Hank Moore (2018), P Joe Bobiak (2017-18), and INF/OF Seth Hunt (2017) well in their 
ongoing baseball journeys.

The #4 seed Wilmington University’s season ended with a 6-3 loss to #5 seed New York Technical Institute in the East I Regional championship
game.The Wildcats assembled a 40-17 season record. Catcher Luke Johnson, a 2017 New Market Rebel, has had a superb senior season. Johnson
played in 51 games and hit .377 with 13 HR and 60 RBI. With those numbers, Luke put himself in a good position to advance his baseball career. 

In the DIII sector, #1 overall seed Christopher Newport U. experienced  a shocking Regional elimination administered by Miseracordia University.
The Cougars sank the Captains hopes with a 3-0 sweep in the best-of-five Newport News Regional. This marks the second consecutive season
in which the Captains (35-10) were eliminated in the Regional round.

■ Dennis Atwood

Friday (May 17 update: all three D2 teams with former Rebels aboard won their first round NCAA tournament games yesterday!)

#1 seed University of Tampa beat out the University of Mount Olive 18-9. Tampa knocked out 17 hits! #6 Valdosta State won the game against Eckard College with a score of 6-3. (Valdosta also bashed 17 hits). Lincoln Memorial won the game against Mount Olive 3-1. In that contest, SP Ethan Elliott pitched a complete game, 5 hits, 12 Ks, 1 BB, and former Rebel Seth Hunt scored the game’s first run (1-for-5). 

Today’s (May 17th) games – U. of Tampa v. #4 West Florida, 1pm (former Rebel Alec Aleywine, IB, should be in the starting lineup if against a RHP); Valdosta State v. #2 Delta State, 1pm; and Lincoln Memorial v. #1 N. Greenville or Mt. Olive, 8pm. 
And the D3 tournament gets underway today with Christopher Newport U. having the only Rebel at a school in the bracket, pitcher Thomas Packert (2018). The Captains host a twin bill today vs. Miseracordia, noon and 3:30.
These are double elimination tournaments. 
The home teams usually provide live video coverage. Go to their athletics/baseball web page and find the game.

Saturday May 17th Update:
The #1 University of Tampa is cruising through its Regional. The Spartans beat #4 West Florida on Friday, 9-1. Starter Kevin Pimentel (New Market, 2017) pitched 7.0 innings of shutout ball yielding four hits, and notched 1 BB and 4 Ks to pick up his 11th win. Tampa will play NOVA Southeastern in the South Regional Championship game today at noon ET.

The leading drama on Friday was provided by Valdosta State as the school named themselves “The Cardiac Blazers” with a come-from-behind 8-7 win over Eckerd. The winning run crossed the plate on a bases loaded hit batsman. 2018 Rebel Call Graham closed out the game by facing three batters, including a game-ending double play to improve his record to (3-1). The Blazers host #2 Delta State and 1pm today. Valdosta will have to beat the Statesmen twice to advance to the Super Regionals.

Lincoln Memorial U. lost to #1 N. Greenville, 7-0. The Railsplitters managed only five singles, and former New Market players Hank Moore (2018) and Seth Hunt (2017) each got one of them. These two squads play in the championship game at 4pm today. LMU will need to take two today to advance to the Super Regionals. 

A necessary add to our coverage is Wilmington University where 2017 New Market catcher Luke Johnson plies his trade. The Wildcats are in a good spot, having gained wins over #1 Adelphi (14-5) and #8 Franklin Pierce (12-10), Wilmington will take on #5 New York Institute of Technology in the East One final at noon today. Against Franklin Pierce, Johnson went 2-for-5 with a solo HR. 

In the D3 tournament, overall #1 Christopher Newport U. is on the opposite tack from Tampa U. The top-ranked Captains are on the verge of sinking, having lost their first two vs. Miseracordia (8-4 and 14-9). Today’s do-or-die contest in the best of five series, starts at noon.

■ Dennis Atwood

Have you been wondering which of your favorite players from past seasons are still playing professional baseball? Have you been looking for a game to go to this summer, either locally or while traveling? There are several Rebel alumni playing professional baseball right now, so there are lots of great opportunities to see our boys! This post will provide you with a list of who is playing currently, and where you can see them in action!

Reed Garrett
Reed Garrett is a pitcher who came to us in the 2013 season from VMI. He went on to be drafted in the 16th round of the 2014 MLB draft by the Texas Rangers. He has had some success in minor league baseball and was taken as the 5th pick in the 2018 Rule 5 draft by the Detroit Tigers. He is currently on the Major League roster, and you’ll be able to catch Reed and the Tigers on the road in Baltimore May 27th-29th!

Brett Gardner
Brett Gardner is likely the most well known former Rebel at this time, having had a very successful career with the New York Yankees after his time with the Rebels in 2003! He is a veteran player, and often times no longer a starter, but you still have a great chance of seeing him in New York, or when the Yankees come to Baltimore May 20-23rd and August 5-7th.

Chad Kuhl
Chad Kuhl pitched for the Rebels in 2012, coming from the University of Delaware. He was drafted in 2013 by the Pittsburg Pirates and was called up to the Major League team in 2016. He is currently on the disabled list, recovering from Tommy John surgery, but sources say there’s a chance he’ll have a few appearances towards the end of the season, and hopefully he’ll be back in the starting rotation by the 2020 season!

Jimmy Kerrigan
Jimmy Kerrigan played Center Field for the Rebels in 2013, coming from the last baseball class at Temple University and then transferring to Virginia Commonwealth University. Jimmy signed a contract with the Minnesota Twins as a free agent in 2017 and has been tearing it up in the minor leagues ever since! He is currently on the roster for the Double AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos in Florida, but was recently placed on the 7-Day disabled list. We’re hoping it’s nothing serious and that we can catch him back in action soon!

Garrett Kelly
Garrett Kelly pitched for the Rebels in the 2014 season, coming from Wake Forest University. Garrett signed a contract with the Minnesota Twins as a free agent in 2016, and later signed again with the Chicago Cubs. He started his season on the roster for the Single A Myrtle Beach Pelicans, but has since been promoted to the Class A Advanced team the Eugene Emeralds. Not sure if anyone will want to make the trip to the west coast to catch Garrett in a game, but we’ll certainly be following his career closely and seeing where he ends up!

Kevin Woodall
Kevin “Woody” Woodall was an All Star Infielder for the Rebels in 2015 from Coastal Carolina. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2018 draft. We’re not currently seeing Woody on any opening day rosters, so we’re hoping he’s still working some things out in spring training in order to appear on a Class A Short Season or Rookie ball roster.

Brendan Donovan
Brendan Donovan played for the Rebels in the 2016 season coming to us from South Alabama. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018. He is starting out his season for the Class A Peoria Chiefs, in Peoria, IL. If you’re traveling to the midwest this summer you’ll have to check their schedule and be sure to catch Brendan in a game!

Jonathan Bowlan
Jonathan Bowlan is a pitcher out of Memphis who played for the Rebels in 2016. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 2nd round of the 2018 draft and was the first Valley League player taken overall in that year. He currently pitching for the Class A team the Lexington Legends in the Southern Atlantic League! While Lexington, KY is not close by, the Legends travel to Hagerstown, MD and other closer cities that a Rebel fan could easily travel to to catch a game!

Jacob Rhinesmith
Jacob Rhinesmith was a Rebels mid-season roster addition from Western Kentucky in the 2017 season, and boy did he hit well for us that year! He went on to be drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 2018 draft. He is currently playing for the Class A Hagerstown Suns, which is one of the closest minor league teams to our area with a less than 2-hour drive! There are lots of opportunities to catch Jake in action at a home game in Hagerstown! He’s off to a good start there, currently batting .359 as of May 15th! You can check out the Suns schedule here:
https://www.milb.com/hagerstown/schedule

Alex Boshers
Alex Boshers pitched for the Rebels in 2012 coming to us from Tennessee Martin. While he was not drafted or signed by an MLB affiliated team, he has had a truly impressive career pitching in Independent League ball as well as in overseas ball in Australia! Alex is pitching this year for the Sioux Falls Canaries in Sioux Falls, SD! We wish him continued luck with his career!

If you’re not able to travel to see our alumni in action, MILB tv does offer 75% of minor league baseball games streaming on TV! Check it out here!
https://www.milb.com/live-stream-games/subscribe
…
There are a few other players on my radar that I haven’t been able to track down over the past year, but who have not necessarily retired. I’ll let you know if I see them appear on any rosters soon so that even if you can’t travel to a game, you can keep tabs on what your favorite Rebel alumni are up to!
…
■ Anna Lawrence