The Florence RedWolves are proud to announce that two of their own have been inducted into the Florence Athletic Hall of Fame.  Former player Tripp Kelly, (1999 & 2000) and former coach Curtis Hudson, (2002 & 2003) will be formally inducted at the Hall of Fame banquet on January 13, 2012.

Kelly, a Florence native, graduated from West Florence High School in 1997 and was a member of the 1995 State Champion Baseball team.  He was named the 4A State Baseball Play of the Year his senior year.  Kelly played his college baseball at South Carolina where as a junior he hit 22 home runs which ranked 3rd nationally.  While with the RedWolves in 2000, Kelly hit .287, 3rd best on the team that went 30-19.  He was drafted in the 27th round by Oakland in the 2000 and was a member of the league champion, Arizona Athletics his rookie year in 2001.  After his baseball career, Kelly returned to Florence and entered private business and is a volunteer youth baseball coach.

Hudson, also a Florence native, graduated from Wilson High School where he was a letterman in baseball.  Hudson played one year of baseball at Newberry and three seasons with Francis Marion in Florence.  After college Hudson taught and coached at South Johnston High School in Princeton, NC and was a member of the 1990 State Championship staff.  In 1994 Hudson returned to Wilson as the head coach and coached the Tigers to the 2002 State Championship.  As the pitching coach for the RedWolves in 02-03, the RedWolves were 55- 40 and the team ERA was 2.64 in 02 and 2.47 in 03. In 2003 he helped lead the RedWolves to the league championship game.  In 2005 he helped develop the baseball team for Florence Darlington Tech and served as its head coach for five season and led the team to the Region X regular season championship in the team’s second year of existence.  Currently he is the head baseball coach at Socastee High School.

The RedWolves congratulate Curtis and Tripp and thank them for their service to our organization.

The Florence RedWolves are a proud member of the Coastal Plain League, the nation’s hottest summer collegiate baseball league.  The Coastal Plain League is the nation’s hottest summer collegiate baseball league. Celebrating its 16th season in 2012, the CPL features 14 teams playing in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The CPL gives college players the chance to refine their skills with the use of wooden bats. Players are housed with local host families for the summer and past experiences have been very positive for both players and hosts. Furthermore, the CPL has had over 930 alumni drafted and 46 alums make their Major League debut thus far. For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at http://www.coastalplain.com, and be sure to friend us on Facebook (at http://www.facebook.com/coastalplainleague) and follow us via Twitter (as cpleague). 

Jamie Young

(843) 629-0700