Sports stats



SAL1 Greenville Drive

Reedy Rip'It Makes His Debut As The New Greenville Drive Mascot

March 16, 2006 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Greenville, S.C. - It was a tough assignment, but Angela Hembree, a fifth grader at Wren Elementary School in Piedmont, was ready to take it on. The task? Design and create the mascot for the new Greenville Drive baseball team. On Thursday, the Drive's mascot officially became a reality at a celebration assembly held at the school.

Angela worked with her art teacher, Fran Bailey, PE and student council advisor, David Vaughn and student council representatives to brainstorm the winning entry that would ultimately become the Greenville Drive mascot: a friendly frog named Reedy Rip'It. The students worked together with their teachers and Coach Vaughn to create Reedy's life story.

According to Reedy's bio, he was born and makes his home in the Reedy River Falls. During the spring and summer months, Reedy makes his way to the new West End Stadium in downtown Greenville to enjoy the baseball season with family and friends. He likes to camouflage his body on the mini "Green Monster" in left field, and will jump out unexpectedly to instill fear in the team's opponents. Reedy's hobbies include chasing long flies, making leaping catches, swimming in the Reedy River, playing leapfrog and attending sock hops.

"I was not envious of our judges who had to decide between all of the wonderfully creative entries our Upstate kids submitted for mascot consideration," said Mike deMaine, general manager for the Greenville Drive. "But Reedy Rip'It is the perfect addition to our team. We're so excited about all of the possibilities Reedy brings with him and look forward to officially introducing him to all of the Greenville Drive fans."

The mascot judging panel included Alan Etheridge from the Metropolitan Arts Council, Russell Stall from Greenville Forward, Ron Smith, Furman University baseball's head coach and Lucy Clark with Safe Kids Upstate.

More than 50 Upstate elementary public, private and home school institutions submitted ideas and drawings for the mascot contest. Some of the other examples included "Wheelmer" from Lake Forest Elementary, "Line Side Drive" from Houston Elementary and "Whitewall Wheelie" from Dacusville Elementary.

As the winning school, Wren Elementary will receive a check for $1,000 at the second Drive homestand in late April. The student design team and teachers will be invited onto the field and be recognized over the PA system prior to the start of the game.

Reedy Rip'It will spend the next several weeks being fitted for his game day uniform, and will be ready to make his official debut on Thursday, April 20, when the team takes on the Savannah Sand Gnats.

The Greenville Drive, the Class A affiliate of the Major League Baseball Boston Red Sox, kicks off its inaugural season on Thursday, April 6, at 7:05 p.m. against the Columbus Catfish. For more information, or to inquire about 2006 season tickets, visit www.greenvilledrive.com or call 864-422-1510.

Check out the Greenville Drive Statistics

• Discuss this story on the South Atlantic League message board...

South Atlantic League Stories from March 16, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central