Even with school out, local baseball continues on the high school level in the form of travel baseball clubs.

One of the most successful is the Lexington County Owls, an organization that fields teams in multiple age groups from 13 to 17 years old, with coaches and players drawn from the local high schools playing tournaments locally and across the Southeast.

The Owls’ 17-year-old team recently completed a tournament in Atlanta against teams from around the country and placed in the top 3 among a field of 17 teams.

“We’ve been putting teams together out of Lexington High School every summer since 2012,” says one of the coaches, Will Cheatham. “The goal is that with baseball so dominant in Lexington County, there is no reason we can’t take a team with area players and be competitive.”

The younger teams are primarily drawn from Lexington High School, as other schools have their own summer teams of 13-15 year olds. The 17 and under teams have drawn players from other areas including Hilton Head, Wando, and Spring Valley this season, something Cheatham says is mainly to help fill in pitching and position players when needed.

“We don’t have a tryout, we don’t really recruit,” he said. “There are connections we’ve made throughout the state with other coaches, and the baseball tradition we have here in Lexington draws players to us who want to play at this level during the summer.”

The biggest benefit to the players who participate is they are exposed to more college recruiters. The Owls have an active social media presence on Twitter and elsewhere to ensure that the news gets out about what the players are doing statistically.

“Our coaching connections with college programs are invaluable, and there is an option for every kid who wants to play,” Cheatham said. “We practice and coach them up one, two times a week and give them that extra-exposure that might help them get to the next level.”

For the recent Atlanta tournament, Cheatham’s fellow coach Bobby Hendrix took a core team and added 3 position and pitchers from Cheatham’s squad. They went 4-2-1 for the tournament, losing to teams from New Jersey and Lousiana, both of whom pulled players from multiple states, and tying a Raleigh, N.C. area team.

“As competitive as that group of teams are in Atlanta, if you’re finishing 2nd or 3rd, that’s a pretty good accomplishment,” Cheatham says.

Overall, he adds that the long term goal for the Owls is to continue gaining exposure for Lexington baseball both regionally and nationally. At the same time, Cheatman also just wants the youngsters to play.

“We have a good time and have fun, but it’s also a great opportunity to get better during the summer,” he said.