Kilgore's new TCL team sets '08 season schedule
TEXAS COLLEGIATE LEAGUE BASEBALL
From special reports

Just one week after introducing its first-ever head coach, East Texas' new collegiate league baseball team has announced the schedule for its inaugural season.

All the team needs now is a name.

The 48-game regular season will open on Tuesday, June 10, when the team travels to McKinney to take on the Marshals, the Texas Collegiate League's 2006 champions.

Following a two-game series in McKinney, the two squads will return to Kilgore to Driller Park for the team's historic home opener on Thursday, June 12. The date is expected to be marked by a series of festivities, the first time a baseball franchise has called Driller Park home in nearly 60 years. The historic facility, also used as the home field for the Kilgore High School Bulldogs, was built in 1947 for the Lone Star League's Kilgore Drillers, the only pro baseball team to make a home at Driller Park.

East Texas' only sports franchise will make its first visit to Coppell to take on the defending TCL champion Copperheads on June 14 and June 15. Head coach Stan Phelps and his squad will complete their first tour of the league on June 17 and June 18 when they head south to Bryan to face the

Brazos Valley Bombers.

East Texas fans will get their first chance to see the Copperheads when they visit Kilgore on June 21 and 22. After a day off, East Texas will welcome Brazos Valley for a pair of games in its first visit to Driller Park.

After a six-game road trip to close

out the month of June, Phelps will

bring his team home for six home games in seven days, highlighted by a home contest on July 4.

Following the July 4 homestand and a homeand home series against McKinney, the squad will embark on a six-game tour of the TCL. Pairs of home games against the Bombers and Coppell, then a four-game road trip, bring an end to July's schedule.

The regular season will close with a six-game homestand, concluding against the Copperheads on Sunday, August 3.

The league will have a day off on August 4 before opening the first round of the TCL playoffs. The top team in the league will face the fourth place squad, while the second and third place finishers will face off. The series winners advance to the TCL Championship Series. All playoff series are best-of-three affairs with each team guaranteed a home game, meaning Kilgore is ensured a playoff game in its inaugural season.

In total, the team will evenly split its regular season, with 24 games at home and 24 on the road. Each of the league's other three teams will visit Driller Park for eight games during the summer.

Game times have yet to be announced, though it's expected most home games will likely start at 7:05 pm.

The franchise set its plan and pricing for season tickets last week.

Season tickets for this historic inaugural season are currently on sale. Season tickets are available as either Lower Box seats or Upper Box seats. Lower Boxes are closer to the field and include in-your-seat wait service. All season ticket holders will enjoy membership in the Premier Club, with benefits like the "Never A Wasted Ticket" program, invitations to exclusive Premier Club events, discounts throughout the summer at the team's souvenir store, and coupons for concessions and merchandise.

Lower Box seats cost $225 each, and Upper Box seats are just $180 per seat. Season tickets can be purchased by visiting the East Texas Sports & Entertainment office at 110 Stone Road, Suite 120, in Kilgore. Fans can also visit the team's web site at www.newbaseballteam. com to get all the information on season tickets and to download an order form.

Fans can follow all the news and developments surrounding East Texas' only sports franchise here in the pages of the Kilgore News Herald's sports section, and by visiting the team online at newbaseballteam.com. Upcoming announcements include information about becoming a host family, players that will make up the inaugural roster and, of course, the new team's name and logo.