May 18, 2012    

Season Openers just 2 weeks away. The 2012 OVL season kicks off on Friday, June 1st with two games on tap.  The upstart Hoptown Hoppers travel to Fulton to face off with the 2011 Post Season Champions Railroaders.  The relocated Tradewater Pirates will host the Marion Bobcats in Madisonville.  Saturday, June 2nd, will see two more games played with the Hoppers going to Madisonville to challenge the Pirates, and the 2011 Regular Season Champion Owensboro Oilers will head to Fulton to play the Railroaders.  All five teams are working hard to get ready for the upcoming season.  Most players will arrive at their respective teams just a few days before opening night.  Individual teams' websites should be updated shortly with roster information.  Check back often for updates.  

April 5, 2012    

2012 Schedule set with season openers on June 1st. The 40 game season in 2012 begins on a Friday with games in Fulton and Madisonville.  The reborn Hoptown Hoppers will visit the Railroaders in Fulton, while the relocated Tradewater Pirates host the Marion Bobcats in Madisonville.  The 2011 Season Champion Owensboro Oilers play their first 2012 game in Fulton on Saturday, June 2, against the 2011 Playoff Champ Railroaders.  Check the Schedule page for the complete 2012 season and post-season playoff setup.

February 18, 2012

Teams preparing for 2012 season. With a little over 3 months before first the pitches, 5 teams in the Ohio Valley League are building their rosters for the 2012 season.  OVL officials are at work with a preliminary schedule of games expected soon.  More details on this year's league play are also forthcoming as expansion efforts continue to progress.  Check individual team websites for updates on their preparations for the upcoming season.

Additional OVL President news and comments for the 2012 Season  The Ohio Valley League has expanded to Hopkinsville. This fifth team in the league will be known as the HOPTOWN HOPPERS. President of the Hoppers, Carter Hendricks, also president of the local chamber of commerce, announced the latest league entry.  The team is expected to play their home games at Hopkinsville High School field and the Christian County High School field, and will begin play in June 2012. Hendricks has put together a solid group of local government officials, businessmen and women including some media as they expect to have a radio presence for the fans. Coaching the Hoppers will be Grayson Crawford, a coach presently with  Pensacola (Fla) State College.  The predecessor of the 21st century edition of the team is their namesake, the Hoppers of the old Kitty League 1906 - 1954. The team colors will be red & white with the same logo.  Serving as General Manager will be Mrs Finney Nofsinger, a former ass't to the VP of the Chicago White Sox. and will be glad to show off her World Series ring.  The old time rivalry is expected to flourish with the recently organized Madisonville franchise just up the road.  

Organizational efforts are ongoing in Paducah with a group of local businessmen and basball enthusiasts are engaged in the groundwork necessary for foming a Paducah franchise for the 2013 season. Its too early to comment with any accuracy on efforts to expand the league to 8 teams, but Murray & Mayfield are both under consideration for league entry in 2013 and 2014. The long term objective is to create 2 divisions of 4 teams each and put on a league All-Star game at mid-season.  The 2012 season league schedule is expected to be announced any day and will provide for a 40 game championship schedule with a 5 team post season playoff at the end of July.

November 14, 2011

Tradewater Pirates moving to Madisonville. Dawson Springs will no longer host a team in the Ohio Valley League as the Tradewater Pirates move to Madisonville KY for the upcoming 2012 season. Former Bobcat coach Steve Fowler left his post as the coach of the Oilers and will head a new Pirates franchise. "We are glad to have Madisonville join our league and are still actively pursuing additional franchises in Hopkinsville, Paducah and Mayfield," Guess said. As of now, Guess said the league remains at four teams and is working to get games broadcast on the Internet and radio for every home game.

In other league news, the Marion Bobcats begin their fifth season in 2012 with major changes happening off the field. The Ohio Valley League president and founder, Gordon Guess, is stepping down from his four-year run as the general manager of the Bobcats. Kory Wheeler will take over the reigns as the team's general manager, with Guess remaining as the Bobcats CEO and OVL league president. Wheeler is one of the team's original investors and a member of the Bobcat Executive Committee. "She is a great detail person and has been actively involved with the Bobcats since the beginning," Guess said of his replacement.

The Bobcats will enter next season with a new skipper at the helm as well. Guess has tapped former Bobcats shortstop Drew Barrett to take over for Kyle Medley who coached the team to a 20-22 overall record last season. Barrett played for the Bobcats in 2009 and his collegiate career has consisted of a stint at Wabash Valley College before finishing his career at Lindsey Wilson College. Barrett was an assistant coach for the Owensboro Oilers last season. 

August 3, 2011

OVL President comments on 2011 Season.  The inaugural season of the OVL turned out to be a real dandy! The teams provided the fans with an extremely interesting and competitive race with each team leading the league at different times. Three teams were still in the running for the league title with less than 4 days remaining in the schedule.  It was finally settled when Owensboro won the league title, only to fall to Fulton in the post season playoff.  Rain outs played a large role in scheduling as the area rainy season played havoc with promotions and pitchers arms.  There were a 1/4 of all games requiring rescheduling and pushed back into July with doubleheaders somewhere almost daily.  Going forward, the league is working on expansion, exploring opportunities into 8 new communities in the area. Don Gabbard is the point man in developing what ideally may become an 8 team league, with 2 divisions of 4 teams each to begin play in 2012.

Gordon Guess

President OVL

For a complete look at the 2011 Ohio Valley League season, see "2011 Season Archive"

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