For the first time ever the Coastal Plain League All-Star event will feature a Skills Challenge instead of the normal Home Run Derby. The Skills Challenge participants have been announced with the event taking place on Sunday, July 8 at Lexington County Baseball Stadium in Lexington, S.C.

It’s no longer just about the long ball as all facets of the game will be on display Sunday night with National and American All-Stars facing off in three Skills Challenges: Bunting, Hitting and Pitching. Each phase of the competition will be comprised of three competitors from each All-Star team to make up a team of nine players on each side competing for the prize of Skills Challenge Champions. Every player in attendance is an All-Star and thus they all harnesh great talent, however the selected contestants have shown an elite ability for the skill in which they were chosen to compete for their team in. The 2018 All-Star Show Skill Challenge participants are as follows:

Pitching Challenge


American All-Stars:

Zach Keenan, RHP / Morehead City Marlins and Middle Tennessee State

Blake Schriever, RHP / Fayetteville SwampDogs and Cal State Northridge

Charles Hall, RHP / Edenton Steamers and Tusculum

 

National All-Stars:

James Williams, RHP / Macon Bacon and Georgia

Redmond Walsh, LHP / Forest City Owls and Tennessee

Jordan Merritt, RHP / Savannah Bananas and The Citadel

 

Hitting Challenge


American All-Stars:

Tyler Adams / Peninsula Pilots and Lincoln Memorial

Paxton Wallace / Wilmington Sharks and Wichita State

Rich Ciufo / Edenton Steamers and Brown

 

National All-Stars:

Patrick Causa / Florence RedWolves and Mount St. Mary’s

Myles Christian / High Point-Thomasville HiToms and Middle Tennessee State

Elijah Henderson / Forest City Owls and Clemson

 

Bunting Challenge


American All-Stars:

Chase Dawson / Martinsville Mustangs and Valparaiso

Danton Hyman / Morehead City Marlins and Newberry College

Jonathan Embry / Peninsula Pilots and Liberty

 

National All-Stars:

Derek Perry / Forest City Owls and Pfeiffer

Clay Dungan / Savannah Bananas and Indiana State

Chandler Jenkins / Lexington County Blowfish and East Carolina

The rules for each event are as follows:

Bunting Challenge

Three Bunters from each team will compete (6 bunters total)

-Each bunter will get 3 practice bunts

  • Each bunter will get 6 pitches
    • Must bunt 3 towards first base target, and 3 towards the third base target
  • Target will have colors to denote different run totals
  • Ball must stop on the target to receive points
  • If ball is on the line, point total will be determined by an official on the field.

Hitting Challenge 

Three Hitters from each team (6 Total)

-Each hitter will get 5 practice swings

  • 4 Targets set out in the field with different run totals on them (1run or 2runs)
  • Hitters will hit off a tee to aim at targets.
  • Hitter will get 10 balls each to hit off the tee.

Pitching Challenge

Three pitchers from each team will compete (6 pitchers total)

Get 30 seconds each to knock down as many bats as they can.

  • Pitchers will throw from the rubber.
  • Each pitcher will have 30 seconds to try and knock down 6 bats standing up on a platform.
  • Each bat is worth 1 run.
  • Hitting the platform and knocking a bat over does not count.
    • The ball must hit the bat first
    • If someone hits the platform and knocks bats over, we will need to pause it and set it back up.
  • If pitcher hits one bat and the ball ricochets off and knocks down another, all bats that fall will count as a run.

The team with the most total runs at the end of the event will be crowned the 2018 All-Star Show SKills Challenge Champions and receive individual trophies provided by the Coastal Plain League.

Fans can attend the event for FREE and take part in the entire Fan Fest that proceeds it starting with gates opening at 5 p.m., a full itinerary of the All-Star festitvities can be found below:

Sunday, July 8
5:00 p.m. – All-Star FanFest Gates Open                                                                                                                                                                                                               6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. – All-Star Player Autograph Session
7:00 p.m. – Mini Home Run Derby Between Local Media Celebreities and Lexington County Youth All-Stars                                                                                                                                                   7:30 p.m. – All-Star Skills Challenge (Bunting, Hitting, Pitching) National vs. American

Monday, July 9
7:35 p.m. – CPL All-Star Game

For information on tickets please visit www.goblowfishbaseball.com or call them at (803) 254-3474 today while tickets last.

The Skills Challenge and All-Star Game will be broadcast live in over 25 million homes as well as be streamed on MLB.com via the CPL’s partnership with 7 Communications.

About the CPL:

The Coastal Plain League is the nation’s premier summer collegiate baseball league. Heading into its 22nd season in 2018, the CPL features 16 franchises playing in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. To date, the CPL has had over 1,450 alumni drafted and 115 alums – including 2017 ALCS MVP, 2017 World Series champion, 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander, as well as 2017 NLCS MVP Chris Taylor – make their Major League debut.  For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at www.coastalplain.com, and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat @CPLBaseball.