Nine inning competition will feature the top home run hitters in the league from each division

Rochester, Minn. — The Northwoods League has announced the participants for the 2021 Northwoods League Home Run Challenge which will take place the day before the Northwoods League All-Star game on Monday, July 19 at ISG Field in Mankato, Minnesota.

Nine participants from both the Great Plains and the Great Lakes have been chosen for the event which will feature a nine-inning competition between the two divisions.

	Home Run Challenge Participants
Great Lakes			Great Plains
Alex Iadisernia	Madison Mallards		Jaxon Rosencranz	Bismarck Larks
Chris Monroe	Traverse City Pit Spitters		Mac Horvath	Rochester Honkers
Kevin Kilpatrick	Wisconsin Woodchucks		Matt Higgins	Mankato MoonDogs
Kirk Liebert	Kenosha Kingfish		Connor Burns	Eau Claire Express
Phil Matulia	Rockford Rivets		Chase Davis	La Crosse Loggers
Griffin Doersching	Lakeshore Chinooks		Ronald Sweeny	La Crosse Loggers
Cam Redding	Kenosha Kingfish		Caleb Ricketts	St. Cloud Rox
Max Wagner	Green Bay Booyah		Cameron Repetti	Waterloo Bucks
Jackson Loftin	Fond du Lac Dock Spiders		Cole Andavolgyi	Mankato MoonDogs

The format for the Home Run Challenge is below:

1. There will be 9 innings with each player having one half inning.
2. 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.
3. Each player will receive 2 minutes, 30 seconds to hit as many home runs as they can during their turn.
4. Each player will be allowed one timeout that they can take at any time during their 2:30, should they choose. Timeouts will be thirty seconds in length.
5. Should any contestant hit back-to-back home runs, they will be granted an additional :30 of time that will be added on after their original 2 minutes has completed and they take a :30 break. No timeouts will be granted during the bonus time session.
6. The Team that hits the most Home Runs will be declared the NWL HR Challenge Team Champions.
7. The Individual who hits the most home runs will be declared the NWL HR Challenge Individual Champion and receive a trophy from the Mankato MoonDogs.

The 2021 All-Star Game will take place in Mankato, MN, at ISG Field, home of the Mankato MoonDogs.

Monday, July 19

All-Star Game Fan Fest and Home Run Challenge

Gates open at 5:00 p.m. to the public.  Includes live music, inflatables, All-Star collectibles, and autograph opportunities.  Home Run Challenge will start at 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, July 20

All-Star Luncheon Banquet

11:00 am – 1:00 p.m. at Mayo Clinic Health Systems Event Center.  Keynote speaker is Minnesota Twins great Tony Oliva.

2021 Northwoods League All-Star Game

Gates open at ISG Field at 5:30 p.m.  First pitch at 7:05 p.m.

For tickets to the game or the banquet, contact the Mankato MoonDogs at (507) 625-7047.

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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 28^th 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 260 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website at watchnwl.com. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.