Last Saturday night, Chatham hosted the CCBL All-Star Game for the first time in ten years, and you couldn’t ask for a better night for the late-summer classic. The weather was perfect, and there was no sign of the infamous Chatham fog that disrupts so many games in the summer. The festivities kicked off with the 20th annual Baseball Factory Home Run Hitting Contest. The first ever CCBL Home Run Derby in 1988 was won by Frank Thomas, as he beat out some notable competition that included the likes of Jeff Bagwell, Mo Vaughan, Chuck Knoblauch, and Eric Wedge.

The Class of 2008:
East
Connor Powers (Brewster), Mississippi State
Joseph Sanders (Harwich), Auburn
Angelo Songco (Orleans), Loyola Marymount

West
DeAngelo Mack (Yarmouth-Dennis), South Carolina
Chris Dominguez (Hyannis), Louisville
Kyle Roller (Bourne), East Carolina

Before the eyes of dozens of Major League scouts and over 8,000 other spectators, this year’s crop did not disappoint. Lefties had a distinct advantage at Veterans Field with a 314 porch down the line in right, but for Angelo Songco, it wouldn’t have mattered if it was 350. He was absolutely punishing the ball en route to his victory over DeAngelo Mack in the finals. Both sluggers hit their share of bombs, and a number of their homers cleared the 25 foot high hill that rests beyond the right field fence, landing on the crowded street above.

Although he just missed the finals, Connor Powers also made quite an impression at Veteran’s Field. Hitting from the right side of the plate, He showed serious power to all fields, including one tape measure blast to right center that made it all the way to the street, well over 400 feet away (and nearly clocking me in the back of the head).

Songco won the crown in convincing fashion, hitting the most home runs in the first round, with eight long balls, and then easily winning in the finals with five homers, while still having five outs to spare.

The All-Stars have been named, and the game is slated to take place on Saturday night at Veterans Field in Chatham.  Here’s what the teams look like:

WEST
C – Trevor Coleman (Falmouth), Missouri, 2010
1B – Ben Paulsen (Hyannis), Clemson, 2010
2B – Jimmy Cesario (Falmouth), Houston, 2009
3B – Chris Dominguez (Hyannis), Louisville, 2009
SS – Dusty Coleman (Bourne), Wichita State, 2010
LF – Marc Krauss (Bourne), Ohio, 2010
CF – A.J. Pollock (Falmouth), Notre Dame, 2010
RF – Trent Ashcraft (Hyannis), E. Carolina, 2009
DH – Kevin Patterson (Cotuit), Auburn, 2011
P – Bryce Stowell (Bourne), UC Irvine, 2009
Reserves
C – Dale Cornstubble (Hyannis), Central Michigan, 2010
IF – Raynor Campbell (Wareham), Baylor, 2010
OF – Jordan Henry (Bourne), Mississippi, 2010
Pitchers
RHP Brandon Workman (Wareham), Texas, 2011
RHP Andrew Carraway (Hyannis), Virginia, 2010
RHP Nick McCully (Bourne), Coastal Carolina, 2010
RHP Eric Pettis (Bourne), UC Irvine, 2010
LHP Dallas Keuchel (Wareham), Arkansas, 2010
RHP Russell Brewer (Hyannis), Vanderbilt, 2011
RHP Seth Blair (Cotuit), Arizona State, 2011
RHP Ben Tootle (Falmouth), Jacksonville State, 2010
EAST
C – Tony Sanchez (Y-D), Boston College, 2010
1B – Ryan Wheeler (Brewster), Loyola Marymount, 2010
2B – Nick Liles (Y-D), Western Carolina, 2010
3B – Rich Poythress (Orleans), Georgia, 2010
SS – Grant Green (Chatham), USC, 2010
LF – Ryan Ortiz (Y-D), Oregon State, 2010
CF – Cory Olson (Chatham), Orange Coast, 2010
RF – Tim Wheeler (Orleans), Sacramento State, 2010
DH – Brent Millville (Brewster), Stanford, 2010
P – Matt Thomson (Orleans), San Diego, 2010
Reserves
C – Mark Fleury (Harwich), UNC, 2010
IF – D.J. Lemahieu (Harwich), LSU, 2011
OF – Ty Kelly (Brewster), UC Davis, 2010
Pitchers
RHP Brad Boxberger (Chatham), USC, 2009
LHP Sammy Solis (Chatham), San Diego, 2011
LHP Buddy Baumann (Brewster), Missouri State, 2010
RHP Martin Viramontes (Orleans), Loyola Marymount, 2011
LHP Adam Wilk (Orleans), Long Beach State, 2010
LHP Chris Manno (Harwich), Duke, 2010
LHP Brian Dupra, (Harwich), Notre Dame, 2011
RHP J.J. Hoover, West Virginia, 2010

I’m heading to the Cape again this weekend for the last time until the All-Star game.  I plan on getting to at least one game, maybe two.  There are a few guys who I am dying to see take the mound, but I haven’t yet been lucky enough to catch their teams during their turn in the rotation.  Hopefully the rotation line up with my weekend, or else I’ll have to wait until the All-Star game in Chatham on June 26th.

1. Sammy Solis, Chatham A’s:  Solis is the pitcher that I am most eager to see take the mound this summer.  The southpaw from the University of San Diego ranks second in the Cape League with a 1.13 ERA.  He took home the Cape League’s Pitcher of the Week award back on June 29th.  He appears to have impeccable control, only walking 3 batters in 24 innings pitched, with 28 strikeouts.
2. Brandon Workman, Wareham Gatemen:  The right-handed hurler out of the University of Texas is believed to be one of the highest-ceiling players on the Cape.  So far he’s shown nothing to make us think otherwise.  Workman has grabbed a few headlines in the Cape Cod Times this summer, as he’s turned in a couple of remarkable performances, including a complete game shutout where he carried a no-no into the 9th inning.  His record currently stands at 2-2 while boasting a 1.89 ERA.  The 19 year-old is striking out more than a batter an inning, with a total of 42 punch outs over 33 innings, while surrendering just 8 free passes.
3. Bryce Stowell, Bourne Braves:  Stowell has come on very strong recently.  He is currently sporting the Cape’s best ERA (by far) at a miniscule 0.36.  His K:BB ratio isn’t too shabby either, at 31:5.  Representing a NCAA powerhouse, UC Irvine, the 21 year old has taken Pitcher of the Week awards two times in his Cape League career, once in 2007, once in 2008.
4. Andrew Carraway, Hyannis Mets:  This one is more for my own curiosity.  For the Mets this summer, he is 3-2 with a K:BB ratio of 42:9.  He’s having a very strong summer, but interestingly was not selected in June MLB Draft, despite the fact that he just finished up his junior year at Virginia and was draft-eligible.  I’d love to see what he is getting clocked at, and hear a scout’s take on why he didn’t make the cut this year.  That’s usually when I grab a seat behind home plate and start looking around at the digits on the radar guns.  It will be no different this time.

Depending on pitching match-ups, I’ll either go to Chatham@Brewster or Cotuit@Orleans on Saturday night.  Sunday is a complete toss-up depending on timing and traffic.  If I’m able to get to a Sunday game it will either be Brewster@Yarmouth-Dennis or I’ll catch the big rivalry showdown, Orleans@Chatham.

“Andy D’Alessio went 3-for-5 with two homers and five RBIs to lead #16 Clemson to an 11-6 win against #2 Florida State in front of 4,526 fans at Dick Howser Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Clemson won the series 2-1 and improved to 34-18 overall, 17-10 in ACC play. The Seminoles fell to 43-9 overall, 21-6 in the ACC, and lost back-to-back games for the first time in 2007.”

Read the full press release here.

Andy D’Alessio is a senior from Naples, FL. Andy played his 06 summer ball for the Harwich Mariners where he hit .364 in 22 games. He also played in the Cape in 2005 for the Hyannis Mets. D’Alessio was drafted by the Dodgers in the 10th round last season, and was also drafted by the Reds in 2003.