CHARLESTON, S.C. – South Atlantic League president John Henry Moss has announced the participants for the 48th Annual SAL All-Star Game’s rosters, which include four Charleston RiverDogs.
Relief pitchers Jonathan Hovis and David Robertson will represent the SAL’s Southern Division along with RiverDogs infielders Mitch Hilligoss and Eduardo Nunez, who will start the game. The game will be played June 19 at State Mutual Stadium in Rome, GA.
“I’m very proud of the guys who’ve been named to the team,” RiverDogs manager Torre Tyson said. “It’s certainly an honor for them. I’m disappointed for three other guys who I think were deserving but left off: Seth Fortenberry, Chris Malec and Mike Dunn.”
Hovis has served as the RiverDogs’ premier closer throughout the first half of the season, compiling a 0-2 record with a 2.16 earned run average. His 10 saves in 12 opportunities thus far rank second on the league’s list of saves leaders. Hovis, a 23-year-old from Gastonia, NC, pitched for the nationally ranked University of North Carolina Tar Heels last year before making his professional debut with the Staten Island Yankees.
Robertson has allowed just three earned runs in 35 innings for a 0.77 ERA. Pitching in his first professional season, the former University of Alabama standout managed to hold opponents scoreless for his first 19 1/3 innings of work. The 23-year-old right-hander from Birmingham, AL, has built a 4-2 record with three saves in as many chances.
Hilligoss set an SAL hitting streak record by hitting safely in 38 consecutive games from April 18 to June 1. The third baseman out of Purdue University batted .326 through his first 55 games, good enough for eighth among league leaders. Hilligoss, who turns 22 two days before the All-Star Game, made his professional debut with the Staten Island Yankees in 2006.
Nunez played 90 games with the RiverDogs in 2006 and has started most of the games at shortstop this season. The switch hitter from Azua, in the Dominican Republic, batted .259 through 44 games as a starter. Nunez, who signed with the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent in 2004, turns 20 on June 15.
The four RiverDogs will be managed by Joe Mikulik of the Asheville Tourists. Charleston’s four selections were tied for third-most of any team in the Southern Division, equaling Columbus and trailing only Asheville (seven) and Augusta (five).
Each All-Star team will be represented by 27 players, selected for the first time with votes from the fans as well as the 16 teams’ managers, coaching staffs, local media and front office executives. Rome will host the All-Star Game for the first time since joining the league in 2003. The annual SAL All-Star Game dates to 1960, when the All-Stars defeated the Salisbury club 6-2 in Newton, NC.
“The South Atlantic League is extremely proud of the tradition and the amount of talent that has been showcased on an annual basis in its All-Star Game,” said Moss, who is in his 50th and final season as the league’s president. “General manager Mike Dunn and his staff in Rome have been working for more than a year in order to live up to that tradition and host one of the premier events on the professional baseball calendar. I’m extremely pleased with the rosters that will be representing the league and the 16 organizations and look forward to another great event.”
A variety of events are scheduled in Rome in conjunction with the SAL All-Star Game. A golf tournament will be held on Monday at Barnsley Gardens, followed by a parade in downtown Rome, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday’s activities start with the All-Star Luncheon at the Coosa Country Club, with Atlanta Braves general manager John Schuerholz serving as the keynote speaker and the Class of 2007 being inducted into the SAL Hall of Fame.
A fan fest will be held beginning at 4 p.m. at State Mutual Stadium, during which fans will be able to obtain autographs from all players on both teams. A home run derby and skills competition will precede the game, with a scheduled first pitch of 7:30 p.m.
