ANCHORAGE, AK – The six-team Alaska Baseball League held its annual All-Star Game and Home Run Derby on Sunday, July 19th at Mulcahey Park in the state’s largest city, Anchorage, Alaska. The American league was comprised of players from the Anchorage Bucs, Kenai Peninsula Oilers and Fairbanks Goldpanners while the National squad was made up of players from the Mat-Su Miners, Anchorage Glacier Pilots and Chugiak Chinooks.
Prior to the game, the league staged a home run derby with 12 participants, two from each of the league’s teams. Following the format adopted by Major League Baseball, each round was timed with the top four home run hitters in the first round advancing to the semifinals. Joe Wainhouse (Anchorage Pilots, Ole Miss), Caleb Potter (Chugiak Chinooks, West Virginia) and Dylan Butler (Anchorage Bucs, UL Lafayette) each belted six home runs in the first round and were joined in the semis by Stephan Trosclair (Anchorage Bucs, UL Lafayette) who hit five. Potter and Wainhouse were deemed the one and two seeds respectively for the semifinal round and Wainhouse squared off against Butler in the semifinals while Potter drew Trosclair. Wainhouse hit five home runs to advance to the finals while Potter crushed five home runs, including four in the final 30 seconds of his at-bat, to advance to the finals over Trosclair who had belted four in his at bat. In the finals Wainhouse batted first and hit five home runs. Potter followed with five home runs to tie him and send the ABL home run derby to its first ever sudden death. Each batter was given an additional 60 seconds but that would not be enough as both Wainhouse and Potter each hit two home runs. After a brief meeting between the two players, it was determined that they would play one more 60-second round. Wainhouse was unable to hit any out of the park opening the door for Potter. It would only take roughly 30 seconds for Potter to end the duel and claim the 2015 ABL Home Run Derby championship.
After an hour break, the All Star Game commenced with the National league playing as the designated visiting team. After a quick 1-2-3 top of the first, the homestanding American squad wasted no time getting on the board as eventual MVP Zane Gurwitz (Anchorage Bucs, Texas) doubled and then came around to score two batters later to give the American squad a 1-0 lead.
The Americans would get on the board again in the third inning to take a 2-0 lead and then would once again score in the fifth inning as Gurwitz continued his fine day with two-out RBI single to give the American squad a 3-0 lead. The American squad would tack on one more run in the eighth inning to wrap up the scoring.
The National squad would have early opportunities to score but could not capitalize leaving the bases loaded in the top of the third and runners at the corners in fourth inning. The opportunities would be few and far between after that as the National squad would only put one runner on base over the final five innings.
