Baseball Factory announces that ESPNU has agreed to televise the 2005 Cape Cod High School Classic. ESPNU will air the inaugural game on July 29, 2005, live at noon ET from Wareham, Massachusetts.  Additionally, Baseball Express Inc., one of the nation’s leading distributors of high performance baseball equipment, apparel, and footwear has agreed to become the title sponsor of the High School Classic.  PUMA? North America, the athletic brand that fuses the influences of sport, fashion and lifestyle, is the presenting sponsor of the event. The announcement of these corporate partnerships was made today by Steve Sclafani, CEO and Founder.

Baseball Express’ title sponsorship of the Cape Cod High School Classic solidifies the company’s support of premier amateur baseball events. Additionally, the sponsorship agreement provides the Cape Cod High School Classic with financial and promotional support to help promote the game to a wider audience.
 
As presenting sponsor, PUMA will host a pre-game event, which will take place the evening before the Baseball Express Cape Cod High School Classic.  PUMA continues to be a strong supporter of baseball and has been partnered with Baseball Factory and Team One since 2003.  Committed to the game and players throughout all stages of their career, PUMA is proud to honor the athletes selected for the High School Classic and celebrates their success at this event.  The pre-game event will include food, refreshments and entertainment by a local DJ.   

The inaugural Baseball Express Cape Cod High School Classic will showcase 36 of the most talented high school rising seniors and juniors from across the nation and around the world.  The Cape Cod Baseball League will serve as official host for the game, providing a historic setting for this event. The High School Classic will precede the Cape Cod League’s annual All-Star Game which will take place on July 30 in Hyannis, MA. 

“We could not be more delighted with the announcement and support of these three partnerships,” said Sclafani.  “We are thrilled to partner with ESPNU and secure network television exposure for the inaugural Baseball Express Cape Cod High School Classic,” said Sclafani.  “We are confident that the network and its telecast as well as the promotional support of Baseball Express and Puma, will help raise the profile of this historic game.”

“This newly formed relationship signifies our continued commitment to reach out to sports fans across the nation, region and on the local plateau,” said Burke Magnus, ESPNU vice president and general manager.  “We are thrilled to add a high quality amateur sporting event to the ESPNU summer schedule.”

“We are excited to partner with Baseball Factory and Team One to be the title sponsor of the Cape Cod High School Classic,” said Pat Cowles; President of Baseball Express.  “This event will help promote high school baseball across the country, and create a bit more excitement for the sport and the athletes.”

About the Cape Cod Baseball League
The Cape Cod Baseball League has been regarded as the premier amateur baseball league in the nation since 1885.  Some 250 ballplayers from colleges and universities across the country are recruited each year to play on the 10 teams of the Cape Cod League.  These players are hosted by local families and compete in front of large crowds eager to see future major leaguers playing baseball at its purest form.  In 2004 alone, 197 former Cape Cod League players graced the roster of a Major League team.
 
About Baseball Factory
Baseball Factory provides baseball players nationwide with the very best instruction, tournament competition, and college planning and placement. From day one, Baseball Factory has understood the uncertainty of being a high school player heading to college. That is why Baseball Factory has developed programs to provide players, parents, high school coaches, college coaches, and professional scouts with year round guidance and information so that they can benefit from Baseball Factory’s longstanding relationships in the baseball community.  Baseball Factory holds over 100 events each year and has 30 full-time employees on staff featuring some of the best scouts, former college coaches and professional players in the business.

About Team One Baseball
Team One Baseball provides exposure opportunities for the nation’s top high school players to come together and play in front of large amounts of scouts and college recruiters through the company’s showcase events. The Team One Showcases have featured 104 players who have played in the Majors including Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Prior (selected to 2003 NL All-Star team), Oakland A’s third baseman and four-time Gold Glove winner Eric Chavez, 2003 Cy Young winner Roy Halladay (Toronto Blue Jays), Texas Rangers’ third baseman and two-time All-Star Hank Blalock among others.

About Baseball Express, Inc.
Baseball Express is a premier national multi-channel marketer of high-performance baseball sporting goods.  Baseball Express maintains a year-round supply of the latest top-of-the-line equipment, apparel, shoes, and accessories from the industry’s most recognized sporting goods manufacturers. Baseball Express sells products through the Company’s catalog, “Baseball Express”; web site, www.baseballexpress.com; and a Team & League sales force, serving players, parents, coaches, and institutional customers. Since the company’s founding in 1990, Baseball Express has become the most trusted source for players, coaches and baseball organizations seeking the latest, most advanced quality baseball sporting goods.

About ESPNU
ESPNU, the new college sports network, was launched in March 2005. The ESPNU schedule will feature more than 300 live events (regular-season and championships) in the network’s first year. Action includes a variety of top football and men’s and women’s basketball mixed with baseball, softball, volleyball, lacrosse, ice hockey, wrestling and more. ESPNU also offers comprehensive studio programming, replays of ABC Sports, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Regional Television games, plus specials and more.

ESPNU has secured distribution agreements with DIRECTV, Adelphia, Mediacom, several smaller affiliates and is close to distribution agreements with others.  The 24-hour television network is the key component of the multi-media ESPNU initiative that will deliver college sports content across ESPN’s family of services, such as ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Mobile, ESPN Radio, ESPN Interactive, ESPN360, merchandising and more.

About PUMA
PUMA? is the global athletic brand that successfully fuses influences from sport, lifestyle and fashion. PUMA’s unique industry perspective delivers the unexpected in sportlifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories, through technical innovation and revolutionary design.  Established in Herzogenaurach, Germany in 1948, PUMA distributes products in over 80 countries.  For further information please visit www.puma.com. For more information on PUMA baseball, log on to www.pumabaseball.com.