Seven Hoptown Hoppers have been selected to play in the 2017 Ohio Valley League All-Star Game to be played Sunday in Huntingburg, Indiana. The five position players named were utility player Taylor Fought; shortstop Aharon Modlin; second baseman Zach Duvall; and outfielders Reese Alexiades and Michael Rhea.
Hopper pitchers named were Dustin Berrong and Jesse Philp. Former Heritage Christian Academy standout Alex Walker, who is tied for second in the OVL with four wins, was left off the all-star squad.
Alexiades, of Pepperdine, leads the OVL in RBIs (33) entering Tuesday’s games and is hitting .355 with seven home runs. His Pepperdine teammate Modlin is hitting .268 with 20 RBIs and 11 stolen bases while flashing some serious leather at shortstop for the Hoppers.
Fought (Huntindon College) is hitting .316 with 19 RBIs, while Duvall (Alabama-Huntsville) is batting .293 with a pair of home runs and 20 RBIs. Rhea (Northeastern State) is second on the Hoppers with a .345 batting average and has driven in 17 runs.
Entering Tuesday, Berrong (Notheastern State) led the OVL with a 5-0 record and has a 1.80 ERA. He has struck out 26 batters in 30 innings while issuing just nine walks.
Philp (Texas A&M/Corpus Christi) is 2-0 with three saves and a 2.16 ERA. He has 20 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched.
Hoppers manager Kierce Kimbel will manage the West squad thanks to the Hoppers having the best record in the division. Dubois County’s Andy Lasher will manage the East squad for the second straight season.
Each head coach selected four players from their own team, with the coaches picking the final 12 players among themselves. Each team will have 12 pitchers and 16 position players.
Each of the four teams in the OVL West have seven representatives on the team. Henderson has nine players on the East squad, followed by Dubois County (eight), and Muhlenberg County (six). Owensboro had five players named to the squad, including former Christian County Colonel Koby Silvy.
This year’s all-star game will feature a home run derby at 4:30, which will feature the players using aluminum bats. There will also be a competition to determine the strongest arm and fastest runner at 5:30. First pitch for the all-star game will be at 7pm (Eastern Time).
This marks the second season there is an all-star game in the Ohio Valley League. Last year, 12 Hoppers were named to the all-star game, won by the East team 7-3 at Brooks Stadium in Paducah. Because there were seven teams in the league, six Hoppers played for the East and six played for the West.
