East Team Rallies to 5-4 9th Inning Victory in 2007 Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic in San Diego
August 11 2007 - 7:47PM
PR Newswire (US)
Beckham of Griffin, Ga. Named MVP; Martin of Toccoa, Ga. and Hood
of Eight Mile, Ala. Win Home Run Derby SAN DIEGO, Aug. 11
/PRNewswire/ -- The East squad scored three runs in the ninth
inning for a 5-4 win over the West in front of a standing room
crowd of 2,725 at the fifth annual Aflac All-American High School
Baseball Classic at San Diego State University's Tony Gwynn
Stadium. The Aflac Classic is the nation's premier high school
baseball game, featuring the best 38 players in the country
entering their senior year. It was the East's second victory in
five games; the West had previously won three-straight Aflac
Classics. Down 4-2 entering the top of the 9th inning, the East
posted three runs on three walks, two wild pitches and a sacrifice
fly by MVP Tim Beckham of Griffin, Ga. Beckham was 1-2 with a
triple, a walk, two sacrifice flies and three RBI overall. Reliever
Jack Armstrong of Jupiter, Fla., son of former Major League pitcher
Jack Armstrong Sr., pitched two scoreless innings with four
strikeouts for the win. "The way this went down is a dream come
true, a real honor," Beckham said. "I've been dreaming of something
like this my whole life." East Team Manager Mike Sheppard, Jr., who
is head coach at Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, N.J., said, "I
thought it was an outstanding game. We had opportunities early on
and couldn't capitalize, so it was great to come through at the end
when it mattered most." The West squad was led by catcher Kyle
Skipworth of Riverside, Calif., who knocked in three runs on a
two-run home run and a sacrifice fly. Designated hitter Isaac
Galloway of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. also contributed two hits, a
stolen base and a run scored to the West team effort. The complete
Aflac All-American Baseball Classic box score is available at
http://www.aflacallamerican.com/. Prior to the game, Destin Hood of
Eight Mile, Ala. and Ethan Martin of Toccoa, Ga. were co-winners of
the Aflac All-American Home Run Derby. Both Hood and Martin hit
five home runs in the final round of the contest, sending them to a
tie-breaking round in which they each hit two more to share the
title of Home Run Derby Champion. The 2007 Aflac All-American
Baseball Classic raised a record $150,000 for San Diego's Rady
Children's Hospital and Health Center and $20,000 for Coaches
Curing Kids Cancer, the game's official charity partners, as part
of Aflac's ongoing commitment to support research and treatment of
pediatric cancer. In just five years, the game has raised $525,000
for charity. Friday evening at the Aflac All-American Awards
dinner, Tim Melville from Holt High School (Wentzville, Mo.) won
the fourth annual Jackie Robinson Award as the Aflac National High
School Player of the Year. Melville was presented with the award by
Sonya Pankey, granddaughter of the late Hall of Fame baseball
player Jackie Robinson. Melville was also named Baseball America's
Pitching Prospect of the Year. In a balloting of coaches, players
and staff, Sonny Gray (Smyrna HS) from Smyrna, Tenn., and Brent
Warren (Xavier HS) from Robins, Iowa, were named the winners of
this year's Sportsmanship Award. Gray, a 6-foot, 185-pound right-
handed pitcher, was recognized for his decision to come to San
Diego for this week's festivities despite not being able to play in
the Classic because of local eligibility rules. Warren, a 6-3,
175-pound outfielder, competed in San Diego, just eight months
after open heart surgery that nearly ended his athletic career.
Participants in the Aflac Classic are selected by Baseball America
and prep scouting organization Perfect Game USA. About Aflac: For
more than 50 years, Aflac products have given policyholders the
opportunity to direct cash where it is needed most when a
life-interrupting medical event causes financial challenges. Aflac
is the number one provider of guaranteed-renewable insurance in the
United States and the number one insurance company in terms of
individual insurance policies in force in Japan. Our insurance
products provide protection to more than 40 million people
worldwide. Aflac has been included in Fortune magazine's listing of
America's Most Admired Companies for seven consecutive years and in
Fortune magazine's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in
America for nine consecutive years. Aflac has also been recognized
three times by both Fortune magazine's listing of the Top 50
Employers for Minorities and Working Mother magazine's listing of
the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers. Aflac Incorporated is a
Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac, visit aflac.com. Media
Contacts: Tim Turner Jeff Heckelman Aflac Incorporated Edelman
Sports 706-243-5594 212-642-7718 Cell: 706-575-3286 Cell:
631-312-7327 (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050721/CLTH055LOGO )
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http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Aflac CONTACT: Tim Turner
of Aflac Incorporated, +1-706-243-5594, Cell: +1-706-575-3286, ; or
Jeff Heckelman of Edelman Sports, +1-212-642-7718, Cell:
631-312-7327, Web site: http://www.aflac.com/
http://www.aflacallamerican.com/
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