ST. GEORGE — Bruce Hurst is returning home tonight to the stadium that bears his name to play against a team he used to call his own with a new team that he and former MLB manager Jim Lefebvre are trying to construct from the ground up.
The Dixie State College baseball team will host the Chinese National Team for a two-game set beginning tonight at 7 p.m. at Bruce Hurst Field.
"For me, personally, it's a thrill for me and I'm very proud to be associated with the Chinese baseball team," said Hurst, a St. George native who is the pitching coach. "I really have a strong affection for these kids. They're really great people and we've developed a real strong bond."
Hurst, who prepped at Dixie High, was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the June 1976 draft. He played 15 seasons with the Red Sox, San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies and Texas Rangers.
He was Dixie State's head baseball coach from 1995-96.
"I'm very proud to bring this team to St. George and let them see my hometown," Hurst said. "They're really getting a kick out of it. For me (St. George) is a pretty good-sized town with 100,000 people, but to them, a small town is 2 million, so it's all about perspective."
The Chinese team, which played in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006, was hosted by Major League Baseball for Spring Training this year and will conclude a seven-game schedule with the two-game series against Dixie State.
Dixie State is the only college team on the Chinese team's schedule. It also played the Los Angeles Angels (two games), San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics and Milwaukee Brewers.
"It should be a lot of fun," Hurst said. "The kids are really looking forward to playing and I think the community will find a team that they'll enjoy watching play."
The Rebels, playing as a Div. II independent for the first year, are 18-11 and is currently riding an eight-game winning streak after sweeps of the clubs team from Utah State University and Weber State University.
"The bottom line is that we're really honored that (China) chose us to play them" Dixie State coach Mike Littlewood said. "This is an exciting opportunity for our players to take the field with players from another culture. It will be good for them to see how much respect the Chinese players have for the game of baseball and see how they approach the game."
E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com