Rochester, Minn. — The Northwoods League has announced the participants for the 2024 Northwoods League All-Star Home Run Challenge which will take place the day before the Northwoods League All-Star game on Monday, July 22 at ISG Field in Mankato, Minnesota.  Waterloo Bucks outfielder Larry Edwards Jr. has been selected as one of nine players to represent the Great Plains Division.

Edwards, a redshirt junior who will attend McNeese State University in the fall, leads the Bucks in home runs with six.  Originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Edwards is hitting .331 with 40 RBI and 23 stolen bases on the season for Waterloo.

Seven participants from each of the Great Lakes and the Great Plains divisions will be joined by four players from the inaugural season of Northwoods League Softball. The event, which will feature a nine-inning competition, will follow the completion of the Northwoods League Softball game between the La Crosse Steam and the Mankato Habaneros which will start at 5:05 pm.

 

	Home Run Challenge Participants
Great Lakes			Great Plains
Max Galvin	Wausau Woodchucks		Andrew Sojka	Willmar Stingers
Parker Knoll	Fond du Lac Dock Spiders		Max Buettenback	Willmar Stingers
Jack Mathey	Wisconsin Rapids Rafters		Brigs Richartz	Eau Claire Express
Blake Guerin	Madison Mallards		Jackson Cooke	Thunder Bay Border Cats
Maddox Mihalakis	Rockford Rivets		Ben Higdon	St. Cloud Rox
Max McGwire	Wisconsin Rapids Rafters		Larry Edwards Jr.	Waterloo Bucks
Michael Lareau	Royal Oak Leprechauns		Kaden Carpenter	Badlands Big Sticks
Carly Oliver	Madison Night Mares		Sailor Hall	Mankato Habaneros
Calli Janik	La Crosse Steam		Paige Zender	Mankato Habaneros

 

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 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 2:00, 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. 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.

The 2024 Northwoods League All-Star Game will take place in Mankato, Minnesota, at ISG Field, home of the Mankato MoonDogs on Tuesday, July 23 at 7:05 PM. The game will also air on ESPN+.