By Steve Sitter and Clinton Cole
PALM SPRINGS, Calif – Rosters have been announced for the 2017 SCCBL All-Star Game and Home Run Derby, hosted at Palm Springs Stadium.
All six SCCBL teams will have at least six representatives on the two teams. The teams will be divided into East and West All-Stars. The Palm Springs POWER, SoCal Bombers, and Riverside Bulldogs will represent Team East, and the San Diego Force, Inland Valley Bucs, and Arroyo Seco Sentinels will represent Team West.
Directly preceding the All-Star Game will be the Home Run Derby, and will feature one player from each team in a two-round contest to determine the 2017 SCCBL home run king. The participants are Ryan Mota (POWER, 9 HRs), Jimmy Smith (Bombers, 3 HRs), Pierson Loska (Bulldogs, 2 HRs), Tanner Pinkston (Force, 3 HRs), Christian Lyman (Bucs, 2 HRs), and River Fawley (Sentinels, 0 HRs).
There will be plenty of players to look for during the All-Star Game, as well. Cody Ducote (University of New Orleans), representing the POWER, enters the game with a .481 batting average, twenty-two RBIs, and twenty-nine runs scored. Aaron Meers (Neosho CC), representing the Bombers, comes in with a .362 batting average and a 1.124 OBPS. Loska (Cypress College) has a .429 batting average to go along with his two home runs. Avery Tuck (San Diego State) of the Force, a 2016 Houston Astros draft pick, has a .419 batting average and a 1.099 OBPS. Hayden Pearce (Cal State San Bernardino), in twenty innings pitched, has a 1.80 ERA with a 25-2 strikeout to walk ratio. Brandon Posivak (Lafayette College) of the Sentinels enters with a .600 slugging percentage.
The Home Run Derby will begin at 6:05 PM, to be followed immediately by the All-Star Game. Tickets can be purchased at the gate of Palm Springs Stadium the day of the event.
