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 2022 Northwoods League Home Run Challenge which will take place the day before the Northwoods League All-Star game on Monday, July 18 at Witter Field in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.
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 | |||||
| Ben Ross | Wisconsin Rapids Rafters | Ryan Guardino | Waterloo Bucks | |||
| Brendan Bobo | Wisconsin Rapids Rafters | Sean Ross | Mankato MoonDogs | |||
| Josh Caron | Madison Mallards | Drey Dirksen | Willmar Stingers | |||
| Matthew Mebane | Rockford Rivets | Charlie Condon | St. Cloud Rox | |||
| Matt DePrey | Lakeshore Chinooks | Ben Vujovich | Minnesota Mud Puppies | |||
| Christian Rivera | Madison Mallards | Joey Walls | Willmar Stingers | |||
| Ty Crittenberger | Rockford Rivets | Brice Matthews | St. Cloud Rox | |||
| Patrick Mills | Battle Creek Battle Jacks | Jake Christianson | Duluth Huskies | |||
| Garrett Martin | Lakeshore Chinooks | Kristian Campbell | Duluth Huskies | |||
The format for the Home Run Challenge is below:
- There will be 9 innings with each player having one half inning.
- Away team (Great Plains) player bats first in the top of the inning, and home team player next (Great Lakes) in the bottom half of the inning.
- Each player will receive 2 minutes, 30 seconds to hit as many home runs as they can during their turn.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Team that hits the most Home Runs will be declared the NWL HR Challenge Team Champions.
- The Individual who hits the most home runs will be declared the NWL HR Challenge Individual Champion and receive a trophy from the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters.
The 2022 Northwoods League All-Star Game will take place in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, at Witter Field, home of the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters on Tuesday, July 19 at 7:00 PM.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 29th 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 290 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 (NYM), 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 winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.