FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- June 29, 2010

SMC’s Gantt Selected to NJCAA All Star Baseball Squad
Team to play in Netherlands

SPARTANBURG, SC- Marty Gantt, a two-time All Region 10 team member and 2010 Spartanburg Methodist College alum, has been selected to play for the NJCAA Baseball All-Stars and will play for the United States at the 2010 Honkbal Tournament.

The 24-member team will represent the NJCAA and the United States in Haarlem, Netherlands at one of the most prestigious international amateur baseball events -Haarlemse Honkbal Week. The tournament runs every other year and the 2010 edition marks the 25th anniversary of the event. USA Baseball's collegiate team won the 2008 tournament by defeating Cuba in the title game.

The 2010 Honkbal Tournament will take place July 9-18 at Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, Netherlands. The tournament field features six teams from around the world, including Cuba, Japan, Netherlands, Chinese Taipei, Venezuela and the United States. Teams will play a single round robin and then advance to a semi-final round as well as fifth place and third place contests.

The NJCAA All-Star players and coaches will meet in Tampa, Fla., July 4th – 6th where they will practice on the campus of University of Tampa. The team will depart for the Netherlands on July 7th and play their first game of the tournament against Chinese Taipei on July 9th.

Links to live stats, video and audio of all Honkbal Tournament games as well as additional information on the event can be found at www.honkbalweek.nl.

Gantt finished his two years at SMC in May, after leading the Pioneers to the 2009 NJCAA World Series and a 2010 first place regular season finish; and was the recipient of Homa Thomas Sportsmanship Award at the 2009 NJCAA World Series.

He is currently playing this summer for the Forest City (NC) Owls, of the Coastal Plains League and will continue his education and baseball career this fall at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC.

Spartanburg Methodist College has 14 intercollegiate teams that compete in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association, which includes colleges in the Carolinas, Virginia, and West Virginia. The College is in its 99th year of providing quality education to students in a Christian environment.  More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning.

For more information, contact SMC athletic director Mark Perdue at perduem@smcsc.edu or (864) 587-4237.

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