PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – The SCCBL’s best are headed to Palm Springs for the 2019 SCCBL All-Star Game this Saturday, July 13, to display their talents and put on a show for fans. The teams have been named, with the Power, Pirates and Bucs combining for the East team, and the Force, Jays and Stros on the other side of the diamond as the West team.

The 2019 SCCBL Home Run Derby will begin at 6:05 p.m., followed by the All-Star Game at 7:05 p.m. Here is who will be representing the teams in the year’s Home Run Derby:

Palm Springs Power – Ryan Sepede

San Diego Force – Alex Blaszyk

Cal Jays – Dylan Lindsey

Inland Valley Pirates – Dante Palacio

SoCal Stros – Evan Banks

Inland Valley Bucs – Dylan Orick

Here are this year’s rosters:

Team Summaries

Palm Springs Power – Jordan Quinn

The Palm Springs Power, after an undefeated start to the season (23-0 league, 33-0 overall), will be sending 12 players to the 2019 SCCBL All-Star game. The Power will be represented by five pitchers from their undefeated staff, led by Darin May (Cal Poly Pomona), who has yet to give up an earned run in 10 appearances, and Michael Sebby, who leads the team with 26 strikeouts. The Power will also be sending pitchers Jack Jett (Hofstra), Steve Boscia (Hofstra) and Jake Dahle (Utah), who have posted ERAs of 3.15, 3.50 and 3.16, respectively.  On the offensive side, Palm Springs will be represented by Peter Abinanti (St John’s), who is leading the team with a .514 batting average. He will be joined by Trevor McKinley (Martin Methodist), who is batting .435 with 10 runs scored. Also representing the Power will be Matt Sosa (Iowa), Austin Bull (Grand Canyon), Brett Young (Delta State) and Hobbs Nyberg (BYU) who have each posted batting averages of .333, .386, .394, and .345, respectively. The final Power player selected to this year's All-Star team will be Jayden Kiernan (Utah), who comes to the game with a .368 batting average and team-leading 16 RBI.

San Diego Force – Cassidy Thornburg

The San Diego Force (12-12 league), currently second in league standings are sending 11 players to the 2019 SCCBL All-Star Game. DJ Lewis (Cumberlands), the Force’s leadoff hitter, has a solid .364 batting average in conference. Lewis has scored eight runs, knocked in 17 and has a total of 20 hits, including five doubles, two triples, and a home run so far in conference. Outfielder Alex Blaszyk, (Saddleback College) has also proved he can hit on more than one occasion with a grand slam, another home run, and two triples. Sam Neufeld, (Vanguard) the SCCBL’s reigning Player of the Week, has 32 hits, four doubles, three home runs, and 17 RBI to contribute to his .410 batting average which ranks in the top-10 batting averages across the SCCBL. On the mound, Tyler Van Stone (Hawaii Pacific) is the SCCBL’s current strikeout leader after striking out 46 in 33 innings pitched. Plus, if you give him a bat, he may just hammer another one out like he did with his solo at bat for the Force a few weeks back. Byron Smith (The Master’s), a multifaceted player who has made some impressive stops and plays at the plate and brought some heat on the mound as well, has been gunned at 93. Ryan Williams, (California Baptist) is another familiar name in the SCCBL having put up good numbers scoring 11 runs, knocking in 13 and has 21 hits including seven doubles, and a triple. Lefty Hooper Mills (East Tennessee State) and Righty Justin Webb (Lassell College) will complete the rotation. Will Stroud (Azusa Pacific), the tried and true short stop is on the list, as well as Cole Mueller (UCSB) who has turned it on recently, hitting .391 in his last seven games. At the plate, outfielder Colin Freeman (Cuesta College) and first-baseman Andrai Wright (Savannah State) with .324 and .351 batting averages respectively, will also represent the Force. 

Cal Jays – Cassidy Thornburg

Ricky Nunez (Cal State Monterey Bay), Colton Combs (Cal State San Bernardino) and Dylan Kanoho (Riverside Community College) have all been hitting over .300 so far within conference with .333, .327, and .346 batting averages, respectively. Brandon Rodriguez-Montano (Victor Valley College) and Christian Carlos (Holy Names) will also be representing the California Jays this weekend. Rodriguez-Montano has scored nine runs, knocked in 10 and hit two doubles. Carlos has also scored nine runs and had 17 hits, including four doubles and a home run to contribute to the team’s success. Dylan Lindsay will be representing the Jays in the Home Run Derby. Irving Martin (Tennessee Wesleyan), Brendon Burgeon (La Verne), Joshua Torrez (Chaffey College) and Daniel Jaime (Chaffey College) will all be representing the Jays on the hill. Martin has a 1.13 ERA from eight innings pitched where he only allowed one run against and struck out 13. He is also coming off a big team-win at the 2019 Avista NAIA World Series. Burgeon has a low 2.16 ERA alongside 11 strikeouts. Torrez has struck out 29 while Jaime has rung up 18.

Inland Valley Pirates – Jordan Quinn

With a league record of 10-12 (13-12 overall), the Inland Valley Pirates will have a strong contingent in this year’s SCCBL All-Star Game with eight players named to the squad. Their pitching staff will be represented by Austin Goddard (Saddleback) who has piled up 19 strikeouts in 19 innings.  Also selected to this year's All Star pitching staff was Nick Esparza (Hope International) who has given up just three earned runs in 11 innings this season. The final Pirate pitcher chosen is Bryan Pope (CBU), whose 22 strikeouts leads the staff. The Pirates will also be represented by position players Mike Bennin (UCCS), Cole Urman (CSUF), Juan Guardado (Undecided), Drew Baltruwiiet (Saddleback), and Haydon Winters (Cypress) on the team.

SoCal Stros – Cade Temple

The SoCal Stros have seven representatives in the 2019 All-Star game. Serving in two roles will be Evan Banks, an outfielder out of Azusa Pacific. So far this season, Banks is hitting with a .312 average with 15 RBI and 11 doubles. He will represent the team in the Home Run Derby as the team’s leader in home runs with three. The Stros also have Cole Cooper (Cal Lutheran), second in RBI (nine) on the team, and Jacob Martin (Chaffey College), another RBI leader (eight). Kyle Oyama (California Baptist), having come off an injury in a big way, is another member of the roster for the game. He limits strikeouts and puts the ball in play hard. The members of the Jays’ pitching staff attending the game are nothing short of sensational regarding strikeouts. Colby Childs (Drury), Gabe Ramos (Azusa Pacific), and Juan Sanchez (Biola) have a combined 63 strikeouts this year so far. Sanchez is at the top of the list with 32 individually.

Inland Valley Bucs – Cade Temple

The Inland Valley Bucs have four position players playing in the All Star Game, two of which are leading their team in batting average. Johnny Pappas (Cal Poly Pomona) is batting .296 in league play and Matt Piotrowski (LMU) is batting .311. Piotrowski proves to be an asset to the team by getting on base efficiently, with eight base on balls and four hit-by-pitches. Diego Santiago, a right-handed pitcher out of Cal Poly Pomona has 15 innings pitched on the year while only giving up 14 hits and handing out 14 strikeouts. He also leads his team in ERA (2.40).