The Brookhaven Bucks baseball team will host five games in eight days at Oglethorpe University starting Fri., June 28.
The homestand includes two games versus the Alpharetta Aviators on June 28th and 29th, two games versus. the Choccolocco Monsters on July 1 and July 3 and one against the Gainesville Gol’Diggers on July 5. All games start at 6:35 p.m.
The Bucks are members of the Sunbelt League, a summer collegiate wooden bat baseball league similar to the famous Cape Cod League. The nonprofit league is partially sponsored by Major League Baseball and has teams in Georgia and Alabama. The Bucks first entered the league in 2011 and have won two championships back-to-back in 2018 and 2019.
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The Sunbelt League is a popular one for top collegiate players and has sent nearly 50 players to the MLB and one to the Savannah Bananas. The league gives collegiate players practice during the summer and provides some of them the chance to play near home. This year, the Bucks have three Brookhaven natives on their roster: Cian Khajavi (Chamblee High School/Oglethorpe University), Holden Baker (Mt. Vernon School/Presbyterian College), and Pierce Juhan (Marist School/Flagler College).
But Bucks games aren’t just for the players. The Bucks have a loyal fanbase built on their commitment to ensuring each game is family-friendly and fun for kids. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids and there are activities for children such as water balloon home run derbies, face painting, and running the bases.
“Not many kids want to sit around and watch nine innings of baseball,” Bucks owner Brad Dickison told Rough Draft Atlanta. “But this is a way to get them to go out and get around it, and they get excited to go to a baseball game. Baseball is a scientific game. To truly understand it, the people that truly love it, you have to have a deep understanding. The way to get that deep understanding is to start going to games and having fun, and hopefully you grow into it.”
The team also comps many community groups such as the Girl Scouts and local church groups that attend the games in an attempt to bring more kids into the sport. Watching local players live their dreams also tends to inspire kids, Dickison says. It’s also a cool moment for the players.
“We want to invite every youth group out,” Dickison said. “We always have NYO, Murphy Candler, whether it’s nine & under boys or the girls softball. We always have them out. It’s good to get them on the field. Get the kids in for free, let them go out, get autographs from the players. … A couple of our players played NYO in their youth. … Whether it’s a St Pius kid or whatever, when they see little kids that are going to their old schools, it’s fun.”
The Brookhaven Bucks season runs through July 20, and the playoffs are July 23 through August 3.