Devin Shepherd Wins Game MVP and Sparks West Team to Victory in Third Annual Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic
August 13 2005 - 9:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
ABERDEEN, Md., Aug. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Devin Shepherd, an
outfielder from Oxnard, Calif., earned Most Valuable Player honors
at the third annual Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic
at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Md., as the West Team defeated the
East Team, 8-4 in front of a crowd of more than 4,000. Shepherd
paced the East's attack, going 2 for 3 with two singles, two walks,
one RBI and two runs scored. The complete Aflac All-American
Baseball Classic box score is available at
http://www.aflacallamerican.com/. (Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050813/NYSA011-a ) (Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050813/NYSA011-b ) (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041202/CLTH019LOGO ) The
West's Nathan Bridges started the game's scoring by slugging a
two-run double down the left field line in the top of the second,
which drove in Devin Shepherd and Jeff Rapoport, who both reached
base on consecutive singles. Bridges had a strong offensive game,
going 2 for 5 with two RBI's while Rapoport went 2 for 4 with one
run and one stolen base. Brett Anderson was the winning pitcher for
the West, which also featured strong performances on the mound from
Jordan Walden and Kyle Drabek. Walden, the starting pitcher, and
Drabek, the closer, threw two scoreless innings each. The East Team
got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning when Chris
Marrero doubled in Billy Rowell, who walked, and Andrew Clark, who
was hit by a pitch. Both Rowell and Ryan Jackson helped pace the
East's offensive attack. Rowell went 2 for 3 with two singles, two
walks, one RBI and two runs scored, while Jackson went 2 for 3 with
two singles and one walk. Jackson also made several stellar
defensive plays, including a throw to nail Jared Mitchell at home
plate on an attempted double steal. Several East pitchers starred
on the mound, including Dellin Betances, who pitched a scoreless
second inning, Cory Rasmus, who had two strikeouts while pitching a
scoreless sixth inning and Chris Walden, who also had two
strikeouts during a scoreless seventh inning. In festivities held
prior to the game, Robby Alcombrack, a power-hitting catcher from
Bear River High School near Sacramento, Calif., took first place
honors in the third annual Home Run Derby with six home runs.
Alcombrack beat other Home Run Derby finalists Kyle Drabek (two
home runs), Torre Langley (one home run) and Jeff Rapoport (one
home run). The 2005 Aflac All-American Baseball Classic raised over
$100,000 for the division of pediatric oncology at the Johns
Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, the game's official charity, as part
of Aflac's ongoing commitment to support research and treatment of
pediatric cancer. At the Aflac All-American Awards dinner on Aug.
11, Cody Johnson (Panama City, Fla.) won the second annual Jackie
Robinson Award as the Aflac National High School Player of the
Year. Johnson was presented with the award by Rachel Robinson, the
widow of the late Hall of Fame Baseball Player Jackie Robinson. The
Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic features the
nation's top 38 rising senior high school players from across the
nation in an East vs. West match-up. Participants are selected by
Baseball America and Perfect Game USA to form the Aflac
All-American Team. For more information on the 2005 game and all
the game week activities, log on to
http://www.aflacallamerican.com/. For more information contact:
Mechell Clark, Aflac Dan Sabreen, Sports America, Inc Phone:
770.757.3701 Phone: 202.321.4195 E-mail: Email:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050813/NYSA011-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050813/NYSA011-b
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041202/CLTH019LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Aflac CONTACT: Mechell
Clark of Aflac, +1-770-757-3701, ; or Dan Sabreen of Sports
America, Inc., +1-202-321-4195, Web site: http://www.aflac.com/
http://www.aflacallamerican.com/ x
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