The inaugural season for the Ocean Springs Blue Sox travel baseball team is in the books and head coach Mark Hubbard couldn’t be more pleased with the results.

The Blue Sox were formed this past year by coaches Mark Hubbard, Greg Cronin, and Scott Walker, with the idea in mind to get the best baseball players in Ocean Springs together on one field. In previous years, the only option was to play on a coast-wide select team, such as the Mississippi Hurricanes.

Players from the Blue Sox are able to play Little League baseball, along with other sports during on their own during the week, while traveling to play together on the weekends.

The team was named after the Ocean Springs American Legion teams of the 80’s and 90’s.

Hubbard was very pleased with the results of the team in their first season.

“We’ve done very well,” said Hubbard. “We’re a lot further along than I thought we’d be at this time of the year.”

The team competes in USSSA Baseball, in the nine year old coach pitch division. The team won the MS South State Championship in the Double AA division and finished third in the Double AA World Series in Orange Beach, earlier in June. The team is currently ranked the number one Double AA nine year old team in the country.

Hubbard, who also serves as the Athletic Director for the Ocean Springs School District, believes the team could prove valuable in player development.

“The idea is to develop baseball players in Ocean Springs.”

The Gazette would like to extended its congratulations to the Blue Sox and look forward to reporting on their continued success.