MOBILE, Ala. – Eleven University of South Alabama baseball student-athletes are competing in the Honor the Game Wood Bat League in Mississippi this summer.

The league, which holds games twice a week every Monday and Thursday, opened play on June 8 and will close the regular season on July 20. The season will conclude with the playoffs July 25-26 at Regions Park in Birmingham, Ala. The Honor the Game League features players from different Division I schools across the Southeast, and includes 18 student-athletes who were scheduled to compete in the Cape Cod Baseball League, including Santi Montiel and Ethan Wilson.

Montiel, Wilson and Reid Powers are members of the Blue Rocks, JoJo Booker, Carter Sanford and Matt Boswell play with the Grasshoppers, Preston Welchel is a member of the Lugnuts and Carter Quinn, Noah Bailey, Hunter Stokes and Michael Sandle play with the Rockhounds.

"I don't think the change from a metal bat to wood has been as drastic a difference as it used to be when we were younger," Sandle said. "That whole aspect of it wasn't too bad, it's just more of the timing aspect because no one has been playing. I love it; it's so much fun. It's not a soft league, there are real guys with real talent in there. I think what I like most about it is we're all out there getting better."

Sandle said his focus in the league has been to cut down on strikeouts, which he said has progressed, in part, after working with former Jaguar Jordan Patterson during the summer.

Pitchers in the league are allotted three innings per week. Boswell and Booker have thrown each Monday during the summer.

"We throw three innings apiece and hit the road," Boswell said of a typical Monday for the pair of Jaguar hurlers. "You're able to show up and exercise what you've been working on. There's no pitch count, for the most part you go out there and throw your three innings and move on to the next week."

The slower pace of the league has allowed Boswell, much like Sandle, to focus on specifics within his game in which he wants to improve.

"The league isn't necessarily laid back, but you have the opportunity to work on things that you wouldn't necessarily want to work on when you are in the beef of a conference season or in a tight ballgame," he said. "Typically in the past, I have had to shut it down after a 60- or 70-inning year, but I have been able to work on velocity, which has been going good. It has been great to be able to work on mechanical stuff and have fun with that."

Before play each day, players have their temperatures checked and are screened for any symptoms of Covid-19, but there are not any mandates in place regarding masks.

"It's not crazy locked down, but we practice social distancing as much as we can," Boswell said. 

"We don't do high-fives or anything, and we socially distance in the dugout. But I haven't seen anyone wearing a mask," Sandle added.

The Honor the Game League was founded by MLB pitcher Eric Dubose, former professional player Joe Caruso and Greg Sykes, who serves as President of East Coast Baseball, Inc.

Join the Dugout Club - the baseball-specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. Members enjoy all games from inside the Stadium Club with climate control, private restrooms, private concessions and access to listen to the radio broadcast. All donations to the Dugout Club go directly to support the South Alabama baseball program. For more information on how you can join visit JaguarAthleticFund.com.