Lafayette Aviators Explained

Lafayette Aviators
League:Prospect League
Division:Eastern Conference – Northeast Division
Location:Lafayette, Indiana
Stadium:Loeb Stadium
Founded:2015
League Champs:1 (2017)
Division Champs:2 (2017, 2021)
Former Names:Jamestown Jammers (2015)
Former Ballparks:Russell Diethrick Park (2015)
Loeb Stadium (1940) (2016–2019)
Colors:Navy & Yellow
Owner:National Sports Services[1]
General Manager:David Krakower
Manager:Jamie Sailors

The Lafayette Aviators are a summer collegiate baseball team based in Lafayette, Indiana. They are a member of the Eastern Conference of the summer collegiate Prospect League. The Aviators play at Loeb Stadium in Columbian Park in Lafayette, which opened in May 2021.

The Aviators won their first Prospect League championship in 2017, defeating the Butler BlueSox in a best-of-3 series.[2]

The Aviators play in the Prospect League's Eastern Conference – Northeast Division along with the Champion City Kings, Chillicothe Paints, and Johnstown Mill Rats.[3]

History

The Aviators franchise was originally based in Jamestown, New York, where it operated as the Jamestown Jammers during the 2015 season.[4] The Jammers' owners, Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based MKE Sports & Entertainment, opted to move its Prospect League team to Lafayette and establish a new Jammers team in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League in 2016,[5] with distance (Jamestown was well outside the Prospect League's Midwestern footprint while the PCPBL's footprint was much closer, in Central New York) being cited as the primary reason for the move.

Prior to the 2018 season, the team was sold to National Sports Services, through its subsidiary, Lafayette Family Entertainment LLC.[6]

The Aviators were supposed to play their 2020 season at Purdue University's Alexander Field while the original Loeb Stadium was torn down and replaced by a new ballpark;[7] however, the season was suspended when Purdue closed their athletic facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]

The team was finally able to welcome spectators to their season opener at their new stadium on June 1, 2021.[9]

Seasons

Season Manager Record Win % Division GB Post-season record Post-season win % Post-season result Notes
2015 Anthony Barone 27–33 .450 4th 11.0 0–0 .000 Did not qualify as the Jamestown Jammers
2016 Brent McNeil[10] 30–30 .500 3rd 5.0 0–0 .000 Did not qualify
2017 Brent McNeil 36–24 .600 1st 4–2 .667 Won West Division Championship (Terre Haute)
Won Prospect League Championship (Butler)
Moved to West Division
2018 Will Arnold[11] 22–38 .367 6th 14.0 0–0 .000 Did not qualify
2019 Brent McNeil 34–26 .567 6th 6.0 0–0 .000 Did not qualify
2020 Bailey Montgomery[12] Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)
2021 Michael Keeran[13] 41–18 .695 1st 3–2 .600 Won Wabash River Division Championship (Danville)
Won East Conference Championship (Champion City)
Lost Prospect League Championship (Cape)
Chris Willsey 25–34 .424 4th 16.0 0–0 .000 Did not qualify
2023 Jamie Sailors 28–29 .491 3rd 12.5 0–0 .000 Did not qualify
Jamie Sailors 0–0 .000 0–0 .000
Totals243–232 .512 7–4 .636

Notes and References

  1. News: Jeong . Park . Lafayette Aviators getting new ownership . . June 21, 2018 . April 23, 2018 . en.
  2. Web site: Aviators Win Prospect League Championship . Aviators Baseball . June 21, 2018.
  3. Web site: 2024 Prospect League Standings - Prospect League Baseball. www.prospectleague.com. 2023-11-16.
  4. Web site: Check out the New Jamestown Jammers logo, uniforms, and ownership for 2015 . www.jamestownbaseball.com. June 21, 2018.
  5. Web site: Jamestown Jammers Join PGCBL. www.pgcbl.com. en. June 21, 2018.
  6. News: Lafayette Aviators have a new owner. WLFI News. June 21, 2018. en.
  7. News: Nathan . Baird . Lafayette Aviators to play at Purdue's Alexander Field in 2020 . Journal & Courier . August 6, 2019 . Lafayette, Indiana . en . August 7, 2019.
  8. Aviators Announce Suspension of 2020 Season . Aviators Baseball . Lafayette Aviators . April 22, 2021 . May 18, 2020.
  9. News: Marvin . Bills . Lafayette Aviators prepping special events in the run up to opening night . July 21, 2021 . May 18, 2021 . . en.
  10. Web site: Lafayette Aviators Baseball Loeb Stadium Lafayette, Indiana 47904. Aviators Baseball . June 21, 2018.
  11. News: Lafayette Aviators hire Will Arnold as new manager. Journal & Courier. June 21, 2018. en.
  12. Web site: Aviators Promote Montgomery to Field Manager . Prospect Collegiate Baseball LLC . September 4, 2019.
  13. Web site: Coaches . Aviators Baseball . June 2, 2021 . en-US.