Some of the top teams venturing out to our region will be Northwestern, Navy, Georgetown, Army, Yale and North Dakota State. This collegiate spring training is a time for major league scouting, practice, and preparation for what will be a tough season ahead. the Russmatt Baseball tournament is a great opportunity to grab family and friends, and scout out your favorite potential pros or just enjoy a great day of baseball.

Be on the lookout for game schedules, weather updates, and game results that will be updated daily through our Facebook and Twitter accounts. The finalized tournament schedule will be published in February at www.CentralFloridaSports.com.

RussMatt Baseball is hosting the Central Florida Collegiate Invitational for the third straight year in Polk County.  More than 200 collegiate teams will train and play games over the course of six weeks. Teams from all collegiate levels (NCAA Division I, II & III, NAIA, Junior Colleges) including Illinois State, Bowling Green, Yale, and Army are participating this year.  The entire schedule can be found here 2011 RussMatt Polk County Schedule

Field codes: COLS=Chain of Lakes Stadium, COL#=Chain of Lakes Park Field #, LM#=Lake Myrtle Park Field #, Southeastern University=SEU, Warner University=WU, Henley Field=HF, Lake Bonny Park Field#=LBP#, Polk State College=PSC, Lake Region HS=LRHS, Winter Haven HS=WHHS, Webber International University=WIU, Tenoroc HS=THC, Kathleen HS=KHS and Jenkins HS=JHS

Central Florida’s Polk County is proud to host the 2011 Russ Matt Baseball Central Florida Collegiate and High School Invitational. There will be 215 college baseball teams playing more than 800 games giving Polk County residents a unique opportunity to see the future stars of baseball from top schools around the country. The games begin on February 21 and run through April 1 and will be played at locations throughout Polk County including the Lake Myrtle Sports Park in Auburndale, the Chain of Lakes Baseball Complex in Winter Haven and schools in Bartow, Winter Haven, Lake Wales and Lakeland. Offering day, night and evening games, the Central Florida Collegiate and High School Invitational has ticket prices set at $5 for adults, $3 for youth (14 and under) and $30 for a tournament pass that will get spectators into every game. Also, another ticket option for 2011 gives spectators the opportunity to purchase a weekly pass for $20. Some of the major Division I teams that are participating include Big Ten powers Indiana, Michigan State and Ohio State and Pitt from the Big East.

Many players participating in the invitational are being scouted by Major League teams so the event is a great opportunity to see players who could be playing on a Major League team in the future, so bring your friends and family to a game and enjoy a day of baseball at the ballpark. For more information about the Central Florida Collegiate Baseball Invitational visit www.russmattbaseball.com or the new Lake Myrtle Sports Park website at www.lakemyrtlesportspark.org .

Here is the most recent photoset from Lake Myrtle. These photos were taken December 13 as the baseball fields begin to take shape in preparation for Russ Matt Baseball Spring Training in February.

Hot off the press….here are some new photos of the construction going on out at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex. We will continue to update you on the progress out there with photos and information, so be sure to keep checking back here as we get closer to the big opening day.