When Pete Hughes and his wife, Sue, retired to Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, from Dudley in 2017, Hughes wasn’t quite ready to stop working.

“I didn’t just want to sit at home or play golf,” Hughes said.

Hughes grew up in Southbridge and starred in baseball and basketball at Southbridge High. He was a 21st-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1969 MLB Draft. His professional baseball career lasted two years, and he went on to graduate from Boston State College.

Hughes worked as an outside sales representative for Horn Packaging, which was based in Ayer, and at night and on weekends, he taught his sons, Jack and Brian, how to hit, field and throw. For several years, Hughes was on the late Dick Maynard’s Grafton Hill American Legion staff.

“I wanted to get involved in baseball again,” Hughes said. “It’s been pretty much my whole life.”

When he and Sue settled into their new home, Hughes reached out to Brunswick Community College baseball coach Robbie Allen about possibly helping out with the team. Brunswick CC is located about 20 minutes from the Hughes’ house.

“One thing led to another,” the 73-year-old Hughes said, “and I started helping him a couple days, throwing batting practice and fungoes, and now I’m there every day and in my eighth season.

“I’ve been blessed,” Hughes said. “My health is good. My arm is still good. I’m not getting much younger, but I can still contribute a little bit. It’s fantastic.”

Under Allen, who is in his 14th season, Brunswick has become a top-notch National Junior College Athletic Association Division 2 program. Last season, the Dolphins won 51 games and advanced to the NCJAA championship game.

Brunswick (30-16) opens this year’s Region 10 tournament May 9.

Since 2009, Brunswick has sent more than 100 players to four-year colleges and universities and had six players drafted.

“Coach Allen runs a great program, and I really enjoy being around the kids,” Hughes said. “They are good, and they are eager.”

Hughes is at the field 6-7 days a week, for afternoon practices and games, seven months a year, including fall ball.

“It’s a big commitment,” Hughes said.

Being all-in means Hughes travels on the team bus to road games, which are mostly 2-4½-hour rides.

“Sometimes I think, ‘What am I doing here’,” Hughes said with a laugh, “but it’s been enjoyable for me to stay active. My wife likes me out of the house, so it’s a win-win.”

Sue recently returned from visiting their son, Brian, and his family in Charlton. Their older son, Jack, and his family live in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, about 2½ hours away.

Jack and Brian were both standout baseball players at Shepherd Hill Regional. They went on to captain their respective college teams, Jack at St. Joseph’s (Maine) and Brian at Wheaton.

Jack was an all-conference player on the St. Joseph’s 2006 team that registered the program’s first NCAA Tournament win and was inducted to the college’s hall of fame in 2019.

Brian helped Wheaton to four straight NEWMAC titles.

Jack and Brian each have two sons, and Pete and Sue obviously take great pride in their grandsons, whose ages range from 2-10, and who love to play catch with their dads.

“My sons are taking over the baseball, and they are good at it,” Hughes said. “I try to stay back and watch. Sooner or later, I’ll have to give this up and go down and watch them more.”

Hughes said he and Sue first visited Ocean Isle Beach with some friends who vacationed there regularly. Those friends eventually built a house there.

“We liked the area,” Hughes said, “so we decided why not make the move.”

Since then, several more of their friends have relocated, Hughes said.

Hughes, a shortstop, was 17 when the Pirates drafted him out of high school.

“I was young,” Hughes said. “I could have tried to get bigger, stronger, all that sort of thing and play in college, but (my two years in the minors) paid for four years of college, so that was a good thing. It was the shot I took, and you don’t look back. I was blessed to be able to do that.”

—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.