St. Pete Welcomes South African National Baseball Team

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- St. Petersburg residents will have an opportunity to see how they play America's national pastime in South Africa.

St. Petersburg International Baseball will host the South African Boys 15 and Under National Team for a series of free baseball games Aug. 2-6 at historic Huggins-Stengel Field, 1320 5th St. N.

The South African team will play high school baseball players from St. Petersburg under the direction of St. Pete High Baseball Coach Daniel Jones. Mayor Rick Kriseman will throw out the first pitch on Saturday, Aug. 4.

All games begin at 3:30 p.m. Admission and parking are free. Gates open an hour before game time.

South Africa is the 17th country to be represented by a team or player in St. Petersburg's International Baseball series. Others include Australia, Belarus, Canada, China, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Spain, South Korea and the Netherlands since the series began in 2011.

Part of the up-and-coming world baseball program, the South African team travels to Panama in October to compete in the World Baseball Tournament.

For details on the summer baseball series, click here.

Image via South African Sports Conferation

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