CSBL North to Add 5th Team in 2010: Tippah Co. Tribe

The Cotton States Baseball League North will add a 5th team for the 2010 season - the Tippah County Tribe.  CSBL North President Clark Richey pointed to two factors in deciding to add a Ripley-based franchise to the 4-team group that launched the league in its New Albany location last season.

"We found a tremendous amount of local support for the New Albany-based Tallahatchie Rascals team last season that was clearly community-centered, and we believe we will find a similar groundswell of support for the Tribe from Ripley and Tippah County in 2010," Richey said.  He added, "To have a community really identify with a group of boys and have that team become 'their' team is a huge part of what the CSBL North needs to be about." 

The 2nd factor Richey pointed to in the league's decision to expand was a desire among positional players to extend their on-the-field playing time.  The league will reduce the rosters of the league's teams in 2010 from 20 to 18 players per team and will seek to include approximately 6 players per team that are pitchers-only.