The Peninsula Pilots are an amateur baseball team in the Coastal Plain League , collegiate summer baseball league . The team plays its home games at the War Memorial Stadium in Hampton, Virginia . The Pilots first started participating in the Coastal Plain League in 2000. The Pilots are coached by Hank Morgan, a former player at Virginia Military Institute and Christopher Newport University.
16-625: The Pilots moniker derives from the Peninsula Pilots (1963–1992), who were a member of the minor league baseball Class A Carolina League , who also played at War Memorial Stadium. The Pilots have played in five Petit Cup Finals in their Coastal Plain League existence. They made it to back-to-back Petitt Cup Finals in 2006 and 2007, losing both times to the High Point-Thomasville HiToms , 6–1 and 4–3 respectively. The Pilots returned to
32-503: A Washington Senators farm team. The franchise had many monikers, playing as the Peninsula Senators (1963), Peninsula Grays (1964–1968), Peninsula Astros (1969), Peninsula Phillies (1970–71), Peninsula Whips (1972–1973), Peninsula Pennants (1974), Peninsula Pilots (1976–1985), Peninsula White Sox (1986-1987), Virginia Generals (1988) and Peninsula Pilots (1976–1985, 1989–1992). The teams were members of
48-567: A Pilots walk-off win 5-4 on Alex Close's RBI in 10 innings. Game 2 was postponed due to rain in Columbia, SC and was shortened to 7 innings to accommodate the if necessary game 3. Game 2 also went into extra innings ending in 8 innings 2-1 on a Jordan Negrini RBI. In 2014 the Pilots finished second in the East during the first half after losing the tie breaker to Edenton but used a 20–8 second-half run to overtake
64-524: The Edenton Steamers , Outer Banks Daredevils , Wilmington Sharks , and Forest City Owls , all of whom, including Peninsula, won their titles in consecutive years. The record is three, which is held by the High Point-Thomasville HiToms , who won three straight. Hank Morgan is the winningest coach in Coastal Plain League history, with 378 wins as of the end of the 2019 CPL season. Morgan broke
80-559: The Seattle Mariners (1990–1992). The team's existence ended after the 1992 season when they relocated to Wilmington, Delaware and became the Wilmington Blue Rocks . Peninsula teams played at War Memorial Stadium (1963-1992). Built in 1948, the ballpark is still in use today and is located at 1889 West Pembroke Avenue, Hampton, Virginia, 23661. Today, War Memorial Stadium is home to the summer collegiate baseball team with
96-797: The Class A Carolina League (1963–1971), Class AAA International League (1972–1973) and Class A Carolina League (1974–1992). Peninsula teams were an affiliate of the Washington Senators (1963), Cincinnati Reds (1964–1966), Kansas City Athletics (1967), Oakland Athletics (1968), Houston Astros (1969), Philadelphia Phillies (1970–1971), Montreal Expos (1972–1973), Philadelphia Phillies (1976–1985), Chicago White Sox (1986–1987) and Seattle Mariners (1990–1992). Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Johnny Bench (1966), Gary Carter (1973) and Satchel Paige (1966) played for Peninsula. The 1980 team
112-630: The Pilots. After a quiet game 1 loss to Florence the Pilots rallied to win the next two to clinch the title. In game three the Pilots trailed by one before the RedWolves committed three errors and allowed Peninsula to score eight runs, which sealed the title. During the season the 2014 Pilots became the first CPL team to defeat the USA College National Team by a score of 7–5 in a game where Peninsula trailed 5–0 after four innings. Peninsula Pilots (minor league team) The Peninsula Pilots
128-822: The Steamers and win both the second-half division title but also the number-one overall seed in the playoffs. After a first-round defeat of the Fayetteville Swampdogs , the Pilots advanced to the East Championship, where they defeated the Wilson Tobs to earn a trip back to the title game. In the West the Florence RedWolves won the Division Championship after sweeping regular-season titles and they advanced to face
144-609: The final in 2009 after winning the North Division where they faced the Forest City Owls and lost in two games. In 2013 and 2014, Peninsula broke through and won back-to-back titles, winning 2–0 and 2–1 over Columbia and Florence respectively. The Pilots set a team record for wins in 2014 when they won the second half East title and the top overall seed in the East. The Pilots are tied for the second most league titles in CPL history with
160-715: The league to 15 teams. The league was founded in 1997 by Pete Bock. Bock conceived the idea in the early 1990s while traveling long distances to the Valley Baseball League in Virginia to see his son, Jeff, play summer baseball . Bock, an experienced sports executive, wanted a collegiate summer league closer to his home. He acted on it and the Coastal Plain league began play for the 1997 season. Playoff seedings based on overall record, so division champions listed are based on overall record. This article related to
176-529: The nation. The league takes its name from the Class D level Coastal Plain League which operated in the area from 1937 to 1952. The modern Coastal Plain League was formed with six teams in 1997. The league has expanded over the years with teams across North Carolina , South Carolina , Virginia , and Georgia , with the 2024 addition of the Greenville Yard Gnomes being the most recent expansion, bringing
SECTION 10
#1732856021932192-620: The next round. In the East Division Championship Series the Pilots faced the 1 seed Edenton Steamers who beat the Fayetteville Swampdogs to advance. The Pilots beat their rivals in 3 games to advance to the Petit Cup Championship. The Pilots made their fourth appearance in the CPL's championship series where they played the Columbia Blowfish and won the series in two games. Game 1 was played at home and ended in
208-514: The previous record of 289 wins, held by former Fayetteville SwampDogs manager Darrell Handelsman, on Saturday, July 25, 2015. The 2013 Pilots ended the regular season as the 2nd seed in the East behind the Edenton Steamers . The Pilots opened the playoffs hosting the 3 seed Wilmington Sharks . After allowing the Sharks to come back and win game 1 in Wilmington the Pilots won games 2 and 3 to move on to
224-668: The same Peninsula Pilots moniker who play in the Coastal Plain League . War Memorial Stadium was first built by Branch Rickey for the Newport News Dodgers , who played at War Memorial from 1948-1958 as members of the Piedmont League . The ballpark has also been known as Peninsula Stadium. Coastal Plain League The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league, featuring college players recruited from throughout
240-581: Was a primary name of the Minor League Baseball franchise located in Hampton, Virginia from 1963–1992. The Pilots played in the Class A Carolina League . Today, Peninsula is home to the summer collegiate baseball team who have adopted the same Peninsula Pilots moniker and are members of the Coastal Plain League . The Peninsula Pilots franchise began play in the Carolina League in 1963 as
256-674: Was named the 74th best Minor League team of the 20th century in a list by two noted minor league historians, Bill Weiss and Marshall Wright . The team was known as the Peninsula Senators (1963), Grays (1964–1968), Astros (1969), Phillies (1970–71), Whips (1972–1973), Pennants (1974) and White Sox in 1986–1987 while affiliated with the Chicago White Sox , and as the Virginia Generals in 1988 when they operated as an unaffiliated co-op club. They regained their original name in 1989 and major league affiliation returned in 1990 with
#931068