The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Cleveland Comets to play at Sprenger Stadium
More than professional baseball will happen at Sprenger Stadium in Avon this year.
On April 4, the Lake Erie Crushers announced that the Cleveland Comets — a professional women’s softball team formerly known as the Akron Racers — will play six games at Sprenger Stadium in August.
“Softball is very popular in many of Cleveland’s West Side suburbs,” Crushers co-owner Jacqueline Kramig said in a news release.
“The chance to bring the very best women’s players in the world to Sprenger Stadium is very exciting, and we think the fans will really appreciate the opportunity to watch the Comets play.”
The games will take place from Aug. 3-8. All games will start at 7:05 p.m. with the exception of Sunday, Aug. 5, which will have a 2:05 p.m. start time. On Friday, Aug. 3, a fireworks show take place after the game.
Additionally, all six games will feature a postgame autographs session with the Comets’ players.
“We are incredibly excited to partner with the Lake Erie Crushers for the 2018 season,” Comets General Manager Steve Dunn, a Westlake resident, said.
“Sprenger Stadium is one of the finest venues in the state of Ohio and provides a tremendous opportunity to showcase the exceptional talent within the NPF. We look forward to our continued partnership with the Crushers and to a successful 2018 season.”
The games at Sprenger Stadium continue a rebranding effort by Dunn as the Comets work to shed the Akron Racers moniker that they have been known by since 1999.
According to the Akron Beacon Journal, the team announced in February that it would be known as the Cleveland Comets and that Akron Firestone Stadium would no longer be the exclusive home of the team.
In a news release by National Pro Fastpitch, the home league of the Comets, Dunn stated that the team is “in discussion with a number of venues, including Firestone Stadium in Akron. We plan to deliver professional softball to as many localities as we can this summer, to raise awareness of our team and the phenomenal caliber of talent in our league.”