The Slippery Rock Sliders were a professional, and later

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

team based in

Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania Slippery Rock is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania. The population was 3,081 at the 2020 census. Slippery Rock is included in the Greater Pittsburgh Region. It is home to Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, attended by nearly 9,000 ...

, in the United States. They were a member of the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

and the East Division of the summer collegiate

Prospect League The Prospect League is a collegiate summer baseball league comprising teams of college players from North America and beyond. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. So as to maintain their colleg ...

History

Frontier League

The Sliders were formed for the 2007 season to ensure an even number of teams with the Frontier League's addition of the

Southern Illinois Miners The Southern Illinois Miners were a professional baseball team based in Marion, Illinois. The Miners were members of the West Division of the independent Frontier League. From 2007 to 2021, the Miners played their home games at Rent One Park. Th ...

. The Sliders played a mere 32 home games at Jack Critchfield Park in

, with the remaining 64 played on the road. For the 2008 season, the Sliders became a traveling team, playing all of their games on the road under the geographical moniker, ''Midwest''. The Frontier League Sliders' became the Midwest Sliders of Ypsilanti for the 2009 season. That year they played at

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

Oestrike Stadium Oestrike Stadium is a stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan at Eastern Michigan University. It is named after Ron Oestrike, a former baseball coach at EMU. It is primarily used for baseball, and serves as the Eastern Michigan University Eagles baseball ...

located in

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and ...

. In 2010, the team was renamed the

Oakland County Cruisers The Oakland County Cruisers were a professional baseball team based in Waterford Township, Michigan, in the United States. They were a member of the East Division of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. The team ...

, and moved into the new Diamond at the Summit ballpark. In 2012, the team moved again to

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

and became the

London Rippers The London Rippers were a professional baseball team based in London, Ontario, in Canada. The Rippers were a member of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. They played their home games at Labatt Park, and were th ...

. The team folded halfway through the season, and once again became a traveling team known as the Road Warriors. The Road Warriors would be the final incarnation of the franchise as the team did not return to any city in the 2013 season.

Prospect League

When the summer-collegiate

was formed, Slippery Rock was announced as one of the franchise locations. Owner/GM Mike Bencic acquired the Sliders name & logo rights, bringing the ball team back in 2009. In the 2009 season the Sliders were managed by Chase Rowe, a

Slippery Rock University Slippery Rock University, formally Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (The Rock or SRU), is a public university in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. SRU is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The university ...

alumnus and current head coach of nearby

La Roche College La Roche University is a private university in McCandless, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1963 by the Sisters of Divine Providence as a Roman Catholic college and now sits on an campus in McCandless within the Diocese of Pittsburgh. History ...

. Over the next five years the Sliders would form a small rivalry with fellow Butler County PL team the

Butler BlueSox The Butler BlueSox are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Butler, Pennsylvania, in the United States. They are a member of the Tri-State Collegiate League and were formerly a member of the East Division of the summer collegiate Prospect ...

. The Sliders ceased operations in Slippery Rock at the end of the 2013 season. The franchise relocated to

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County, Ohio, Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approxim ...

and were renamed the

Champion City Kings The Champion City Kings are a college summer baseball team located in Springfield, Ohio. The Kings are a member of the East Division of the wood bat Prospect League and have been a member since 2013. The Kings play at Carleton Davidson Stadium ...

Seasons

References

External links

Official Slippery Rock Sliders website
{{Pennsylvania Sports Prospect League teams Butler County, Pennsylvania Sports in Pittsburgh Amateur baseball teams in Pennsylvania Defunct Frontier League teams Baseball teams established in 2007 Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 2013 Defunct independent baseball league teams Defunct baseball teams in Pennsylvania