The Fayetteville SwampDogs (summer collegiate; Coastal Plain League) opened their 2012 season on the road with a 4-3 loss to the Florence RedWolves with owner Darrell Handelsman still hospitalized.
Team owner/GM/coach Handelsman, SwampDogs operations manager Mark Wilderman and intern Jonathan Wilson-Daughtner are still listed in serious condition at UNC Hospital after a propane explosion last Thursday at J.P. Riddle Stadium. A gas leak on a commercial-grade grill caused an explosion when lit, creating damage in the grill structure and sending four to the hospital.
The SwampDogs open their home season tonight. Assistant GM Jeremy Asgard and associate head coach David Tufo are running the team while Handelsman recuperates.
Handelsman and his father, Lew Handelsman, own the SwampDogs as well as the Wilmington Sharks, also of the Coastal Plain League.
RELATED STORIES: SwampDogs to launch season as planned; three remain hospitalized; Handelsman, two others in serious condition after Fayetteville ballpark explosion