College Baseball and Softball
56 Teams to Compete in 4th Annual Papa John’s Palm Beach Challenge

The 4th annual Papa John’s Palm Beach Challenge begins in March 3rd at the Santaluces Sports Complex in Lantana. The Softball event begins on March 4th at Lake Charleston Park in Boynton Beach. The event runs till March 23rd.

All Totals 12 NCAA Division I, 13 NCAA Division II, 3 NAIA, 18 Junior College, and 11 other baseball and softball teams will compete. The teams will come from 15 different states and Canada. All games count as regular season games.

Highlighting the Division I field are teams from the ACC (Boston College), Big East (Villanova), and defending conference champions and 2006 playoff teams (Manhattan and Maine).

The Junior college division will feature Brookdale (NJ) who finished 4th in the country in NCAA Division II.

All Total more than 130 games will be played at the Santaluces Sports Complex’s four fields. That is the equivalent of more than one and a half year of Florida Marlins has games played in a little more than three weeks.

The Challenge is produced by the Diamond Management Group in a partnership with the Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department, and the Palm Beach County Sports Commission.

The Challenge is actually in its 11th year, it began in 1997 in Homestead, FL. The Junior College portion of the event moved to Palm Beach County in 2004, and after Homestead being disbanded in 2005, the event has grown every year.

More than 30 players from this year’s event are expected to get drafted by Major League teams. Daily ticket prices are $4. For more information call (591) 499-9192.

List of Teams:

Division I                                             
                                                           
Maine                                                                          
Fordham                                                                     
Villanova                                             
St. Bonaventure                                   
Manhattan                                           
Penn                                                    
Long Island                                         
Monmouth                                           
Northern Illinois                                   
New Jersey IT                                     
Boston College
Division II
Adelphi
Bloomfield
CW Post
Dominican
Felician
Franklin Pierce
Lewis  
Mercy
Molloy
UMass Lowell
Southern Connecticut State
Wilmington

Junior College                                                              
Brookdale                                                                   
Burlington                                                                    
Rhode Island                                                               
Columbia Greene                                             
Delaware Tech
Erie
Jefferson
Macomb
Miami-Dade
Monroe
Patrick Henry
Triton
Union County
Waubonsee
Ulster
Neosho
Oakton

NAIA 
Sioux Falls
Northwood
St. Thomas      
Florida Memorial

Other
Cranbrook
Toronto Mets
Toronto Terriers
South Florida Beach Bums