The Northwoods League announces the participants for the 2019 NWL Home Run Derby
Rochester, Minn. – Former Madison Mallard Pete Alonso defeated Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. to win the 2019 MLB Home Run Derby by a score of 23-22. Alonso beat Indians’ hometown hero Carlos Santana, 13-12, and Ronald Acuña Jr., 20-19 in the first two rounds. Alonso, a rookie for the Mets, currently has 30 home runs at the break. Former Logger Matt Chapman put up a solid home run total but was beat by Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. in the first round. Chapman, who currently has 21 home runs on the season had 13 home runs to Guerrero’s 29.
In 2014 with the Mallards, Alonso hit 18 home runs and was also a mid-season All-Star. In the fourth inning of the 2014 All-Star game hosted by the Lakeshore Chinooks, Wisconsin Rapids shortstop Zack Domingues drew a walk with one out. 2019 MLB All-Star Paul DeJong, an alum of the Wisconsin Woodchucks, singled to bring Alonso to the plate. Alonso then proceeded to hit a three-run home run to left center field, and the South had a 3-0 lead and went on to win the game. Alonso was selected as the MVP of the game.
“I knew he was going to throw me a fastball, it’s a showcase-type deal,” Alonso said at the time. “I just tried to catch some barrel on the ball and not ground into a double-play…and the ball traveled for me.”
The right-handed hitter praised the league for this experience. “Being in the dugout with a Hall of Famer (Robin Yount) was really special…and it was like a big-league atmosphere,” he also said.
On the heels of the MLB Home Run Derby, the Northwoods League has announced the participants for the 2019 NWL All-Star Game Home Run Derby which will take place before the Northwoods League All-Star Game in Waterloo, Iowa on Tuesday, July 16 at 7:05 p.m. (CST). Nine participants from both the Great Lakes and Great Plains Divisions have been chosen for the event which will feature a nine-inning competition between the two divisions.
| Home Run Derby Participants | |||||
| Great Lakes | HR | Great Plains | HR | ||
| Drew Benefield | Madison Mallards | 9 | Ryan Holgate | La Crosse Loggers | 8 |
| Justice Bigbie | Madison Mallards | 9 | Tristan Peterson | Rochester Honkers | 6 |
| Byron Murray | Wisconsin Woodchucks | 6 | Patrick Ferguson | Waterloo Bucks | 6 |
| Jake Dunham | Wisconsin Rapids Rafters | 4 | Justin King | Willmar Stingers | 5 |
| Brandon Seltzer | Wisconsin Woodchucks | 5 | Josh Elvir | Mankato MoonDogs | 5 |
| T.J. Reeves | Wisconsin Woodchucks | 5 | Ryan Wrobleski | Rochester Honkers | 4 |
| Andrew Morrow | Traverse City Pit Spitters | 5 | Jake Engel | Thunder Bay Border Cats | 4 |
| Joe Mason | Green Bay Booyah | 4 | Stephen Baughan | Bismarck Larks | 4 |
| Andrew Bullock | Fond du Lac Dock Spiders | 3 | Garett Delano | St. Cloud Rox | 3 |
The Great Lakes team is led by Drew Benefield (University of Louisville) and Justice Bigbie (Western Carolina University) of the Madison Mallards. Benefield has nine home runs and 26 RBI in 37 games for the Mallards while Bigbie has also hit nine home runs, driven in 45 runs and is currently hitting .357 over 40 games.
The team from the Great Plains features Ryan Holgate (University of Arizona) of the La Crosse Loggers and Patrick Ferguson (Kent State University) of the hometown Waterloo Bucks. Over 33 games, Holgate has eight home runs and has scored 23 runs while driving in 36. Ferguson has six home runs in 39 games and has driven in 27.
The format for the Home Run Derby is below:
- There will be 9 innings with each player having one half inning.
- Away team (Great Lakes) player bats first in the top of the inning, and home team player next (Great Plains) in the bottom half of the inning.
- Each player will have one half inning at bat that will consist of 6 outs
- The player with the most home runs at the end of the 9 innings, will be the Home Run Derby Winner
- The team (Great Lakes or Great Plains) with the most home runs will be announced as the winner of the team competition.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Currently in its’ 26th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, over 200 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG), World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS) and MLB All-Stars Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (MIA). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.