Rosters announced for the 55th Annual South Atlantic League All-Star Game with Milroy, German, Wallach, Munoz, Dean and Carlos Lopez from the Hoppers

Greensboro Grasshoppers Chad Wallach(catcher), Felix Munoz(first base) and Carlos Lopez(LF) have all been named starters for the game…

SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE ANNOUNCES ROSTERS FOR 55th ANNUAL SAL ALL-STAR GAME

ST. PETERSBURG, FL—Eric Krupa, president of the South Atlantic League, has announced the rosters for the 55th Annual SAL All-Star Game, scheduled to be played on June 17, 2014, at L.P. Frans Stadium in Hickory, North Carolina, home of the Hickory Crawdads.

For the Northern Division, two teams each placed six players on the roster. The Greensboro Grasshoppers provide starting catcher Chad Wallach, first baseman Felix Munoz and left fielder Carlos Lopez. The Hagerstown Suns provide second baseman Wilmer Difo. The Delmarva Shorebirds contribute five players, including starting pitcher Hunter Harvey, third baseman Drew Dosch and right fielder Mike Yastrzemski. The Lakewood BlueClaws provide four players, including shortstop J.P. Crawford, who received more votes than any other player on either squad, and designated hitter Willians Astudillo. The Hickory Crawdads and West Virginia Power each provide two players, with Hickory’s Evan Van Hoosier named as the starter in center field. The Kannapolis Intimidators contribute one player to the Northern Division roster.

Hagerstown manager Patrick Anderson will skipper the Northern Division All-Stars. Anderson is in his first season in the league, and his second year as a manager in the Minor Leagues. Anderson will be assisted by Hickory manager Corey Ragsdale, Hagerstown coach Luis Ordaz and Hagerstown pitching coach Sam Narron. Handling the athletic trainer’s duties for the Northern Division will be Hickory’s Sean Fields.

For the Southern Division, the Savannah Sand Gnats led the division with seven players, including starting second baseman Jeff McNeil and shortstop Gavin Cecchini. The Charleston RiverDogs and Greenville Drive each provide four players, with Charleston’s Mike Ford starting at first base and Aaron Judge in right field. Greenville’s Jake Romanski is the starting catcher. Three teams each placed three players on the team. The Asheville Tourists provide starting third baseman Ryan McMahon, center fielder David Dahl and designated hitter Correlle Prime while the Augusta GreenJackets provide starting pitcher Matthew Lujan. The Rome Braves supply left fielder Victor Reyes. The Lexington Legends supply two players to the Southern Division roster.

Savannah skipper Luis Rojas will manage the Southern Division squad for the second consecutive year. Rojas is in his fourth season as a manager, and his ninth overall as a member of the New York Mets organization. Rojas will be joined on the Southern Division coaching staff by Greenville manager Darren Fenster and Greenville pitching coach Paul Abbott. Asheville’s Billy Whitehead will serve as the team’s athletic trainer.

Both all-star teams will be represented by 26 players, selected by the votes of the team’s managers and coaching staffs, local media and front office executives. L.P. Frans Stadium will be hosting it second SAL All-Star Game. The other time the All-Star Game was held in Hickory was in 1994, when the National League All-Stars defeated the American League All-Stars 9-5. The annual SAL All-Star Game dates to 1960, when the All-Stars defeated the Salisbury club, 6-2, in Newton, NC.

“Once again, the amount of talent that will be showcased in this game will be incredible,” said Krupa. “General Manager Mark Seaman and his staff in Hickory have been working for more than a year in order to put together one of the most anticipated events on our baseball calendar.””

A variety of events have been scheduled in Hickory along with the SAL All-Star Game. On Monday, June 16th, there will be a Downtown All-Star Bash “Under the Sails” in downtown Hickory, including a Cornhole Tournament between the All-Star players and fans. On Tuesday, June 17th, there will be an All-Star Luncheon at The Crossing at Hollar Mill where the 2014 SAL Hall of Fame members will be inducted. Luther Beaver, Randy Ingle, George Murphy and Charles Young will be honored as members of the class of 2014. Beginning at 2:30pm in the parking lot at L.P Frans Stadium, the All-Fan Fest will be an opportunity for fans to get autographs from and pictures with the SAL All-Stars. The first pitch of the 2014 All-Star Game is scheduled at 7:00pm. More information can be found on the website of the Hickory Crawdads at www.hickorycrawdads.com.
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2014 South Atlantic League All-Stars

POSITION
NORTHERN DIVISION

MANAGER
Patrick Anderson
Hagerstown

COACH
Corey Ragsdale
Hickory

COACH
Sam Narron
Hagerstown

COACH
Luis Ordaz
Hagerstown

PITCHERS
Hunter Harvey
Delmarva

Cody Forsythe
Lakewood

Domingo German
Greensboro

Cody Kendall
Hickory

Matt Milroy
Greensboro

Nick Pivetta
Hagerstown

Jake Sanchez
Kannapolis

Sebastian Vader
Delmarva

Austin Voth
Hagerstown

Jake Walsh
Hagerstown

Jimmy Yacabonis
Delmarva

CATCHERS
Chad Wallach
Greensboro

Spencer Kieboom
Hagerstown

Reese McGuire
West Virginia

FIRST BASEMAN
Felix Munoz
Greensboro

SECOND BASEMAN
Wilmer Difo
Hagerstown

THIRD BASEMAN
Drew Dosch
Delmarva

SHORTSTOP
J.P. Crawford
Lakewood

UTILITY INFIELDER
Erich Weiss
West Virginia

UTILITY INFIELDER
John Wooten
Hagerstown

RIGHT FIELD
Mike Yastrzemski
Delmarva

CENTER FIELD
Evan Van Hoosier
Hickory

LEFT FIELD
Carlos Lopez
Greensboro

UTILITY OUTFIELDER
Austin Dean
Greensboro

UTILITY OUTFIELDER
Samuel Hiciano
Lakewood

DESIGNATED HITTER
Willians Astudillo
Lakewood

TRAINER
Sean Fields
Hickory

SOUTHERN DIVISION

MANAGER
Luis Rojas
Savannah

COACH
Darren Fenster
Greenville

COACH
Paul Abbott
Greenville

PITCHERS
Matthew Lujan
Augusta

Dario Alvarez
Savannah

Robert Coles
Savannah

Miller Diaz
Savannah

Yean Carlos Gil
Rome

Joe Gunkel
Greenville

Brady Lail
Charleston

Kevin McGowan
Savannah

Akeel Morris
Savannah

Caleb Smith
Charleston

Luis Ysla
Augusta

CATCHERS
Jake Romanski
Greenville

Victor Caratini
Rome

Frank Schwindel
Lexington

FIRST BASEMAN
Mike Ford
Charleston

SECOND BASEMAN
Jeff McNeil
Savannah

THIRD BASEMAN
Ryan McMahon
Asheville

SHORTSTOP
Gavin Cecchini
Savannah

UTILITY INFIELDER
Jantzen Witte
Greenville

UTILITY INFIELDER
Carlos Asuaje
Greenville

RIGHT FIELD
Aaron Judge
Charleston

CENTER FIELD
David Dahl
Asheville

LEFT FIELD
Victor Reyes
Rome

UTILITY OUTFIELDER
Dominique Taylor
Lexington

UTILITY OUTFIELDER
Tyler Horan
Augusta

DESIGNATED HITTER
Correlle Prime
Asheville

TRAINER
Billy Whitehead
Asheville