The Macon Bacon have announced the 2020 Southern Summer Ball Series in conjunction with two other Coastal Plains League teams, the Lexington County Blowfish and the Savannah Bananas! Although the 2020 regular season schedule has been delayed and adjusted because of governmental COVID-19 restrictions, these teams are taking precautions in order to move forward with a 42-50 game schedule.
The Bacon and Bananas, Georgia teams where crowd size restrictions have been relaxed provided facilities take the appropriate steps for social distancing and sanitation, have been approved by local officials to play. The Blowfish, based in Lexington County, South Carolina are also working within the safety guidelines and social distancing measures established in their community allowing them to play games this summer with limited capacity. All three teams will be testing players for Covid-19 upon arrival and institute temperature screenings for the players throughout the summer while following league and governmental guidelines for the safety of players, employees, and fans.
“We’re excited to be able to continue providing our fans with exciting, family entertainment from highly talented players in our communities this summer,” said Macon Bacon President Brandon Raphael.
The Southern Summer Ball Series will kick off July 1st with Macon visiting Savannah. There will be first and second half winners based on the best winning percentage. The first half winner will host the Southern Summer Ball Series Championship game on Sunday, August 16th.
The original home schedule stays the same including the Bacon vs. Bananas Breakfast Bowl Series at the end of the season. However, due to necessary adjustments, the teams will play an unbalanced schedule against each other and fill out their schedule with games against other summer collegiate teams. The changes have allowed the Bacon to add two additional weekend home games on Friday, August 7th and Saturday, August 15th for a total of 30 home games this season. Saturday, August 15th will be the last game of the regular season.
The Macon Bacon will also play nine games against the soon to be unveiled Macon Eggs, a second team playing out of Luther Williams Field this summer, and three games against the Catawba Valley Stars.
“We are looking forward to the start of the Southern Summer Ball Series on July 1st and a full complement of baseball this season following the established safety guidelines for our players, staff, and fans,” said Raphael.