Twenty finalists announced for name-the-team contest

Augusta - Sussex Professional Baseball hs announced the twenty finalists in its Name The Team Contest for the Skylands Ballpark’s new baseball franchise. The Grand Prize Winner was to be announced on Wednesday, Jan. 25. “This has been a long, exciting process,” said Larry Hall, President of Sussex Professional Baseball. “We were overwhelmed by the flood of great submissions, and we thank everyone who participated. Narrowing them down to a list of just twenty was a very difficult task.” Out of the thousands of entries, the twenty finalists and are: Dempsey Waters of Andover : Generals Donniel Woloszyn of Sussex: Bobcats Claire Wolpert of Wantage: Highlanders Dewey Budd of Newton: Supernauts John Malone of Lake Hopatcong: Rattlers Micheal Bruno of Hamburg: Skyhawks Robert Thomas of Lafayette: Mustangs Glenn Swotinsky of Parsippany: Cornhuskers Kelly Sulik of Budd Lake: Wild Jim & Kim Hollister of Denville: Storm Jim Young of Chatham: Miners Mark Trudeau of Franklin: Coyotes Chip Gianni of West Orange: Mountaineers Kerry Sarnowski of Hopatcong: Copperheads Warren Windt of Ogdensburg: Swarm George Cicero of Stanhope: Stallions Alan Guber of Highland Lakes: Cougars Ted Bennett of Sussex: Thunderhawks George Falkowski of Phillipsburg: BarnCats Vincent Caratozzolo of Vernon: Bruins “Opportunities like this are what being a fan is all about,” Hall added, “and we want to duly reward everyone who took part.” All submitters will receive a team pin, and each finalist will receive four tickets to the opening night festivities, a baseball autographed by Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra, and a baseball autographed by the new team. In addition, the Grand Prize Winner will be awarded a package of prizes that will include season tickets and parking passes for a family of four, as well as two airline tickets to anywhere in the continental United States. To choose the twenty finalists, a panel of six judges read through all of the submissions to determine which were the most appropriate. Sussex Professional Baseball chose one person at random for team names submitted by more than one person. Although only one person will win the Grand Prize, everyone who submitted the winning name will win a prize to be determined at a later date. Opening day celebrations will be held on May 29 and will feature a fireworks display and many other family activities. For more information, log onto www.sussexprofessionalbaseball.com. As part of the independent Can-Am League, the new Sussex team will host 46 games against the Brockton Rox, Nashua Pride, New Haven Cutters, New Jersey Jackals, North Shore Spirit, Les Capitales de Quebec, and the Worcester Tornadoes. Standard game times are 7:05 p.m. Monday through Friday, 5:05 p.m. on Saturdays and 2:05 p.m. on Sundays.