Kalamazoo, Mich. — Growlers outfielder Jared Kujawa (Western Michigan) will participate in the Home Run Challenge, part of the Northwoods League All-Star Game festivities, the league announced on Thursday.
Kujawa, a rising senior, has whacked four homers for the Growlers this year to go along with his .287 average. He will join South Division counterparts Paul DeJong (Illinois State) of the Wisconsin Woodchucks, Pete Alonso (Florida) of the Madison Mallards, Pat Porter (Ohio State) of the Kenosha Kingfish and Brett Siddall (Canisius) of the Lakeshore Chinooks in the team-style challenge, scheduled for 4:45 p.m. on July 22.
The Home Run Challenge will consist of team and individual competitions. Each player will get five outs in his own round, and the team whose players combine for the most home runs will be declared the winner. The player with the most home runs in his round will take home the individual title.
The All-Star festivities begin on July 21 with a banquet at the Ozaukee County Fair Grounds in the Columbia St. Mary's Center at 5:00 p.m. Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig is the featured speaker. Hall of Famer Robin Yount and former major leaguer Jim Gantner, who will manage the two all-star teams, will also make appearances. Tickets to the banquet are $60 each and can be purchased by calling the Lakeshore Chinooks at 262-618-4659. Tickets to the All-Star Game are $15 for reserved box, $10 for reserved grandstand and $7 for general admission and are available through the Chinooks' office or on lakeshorechinooks.com. The full release on the Home Run Challenge and the All-Star Game festivities is available here.
The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 20-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 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, 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com.