BRYAN, Texas — Thirteen members of the Brazos Valley Bombers will participate in this year’s Texas Collegiate League All-Star Game, including eight starters. The TCL All-Star Game will be held Tuesday, July 2 at Travis Field in Bryan.
With 13 players, the Bombers claim the largest share of the All-Star rosters. The Bombers will comprise the majority of the Legends starting lineup and reserves.
Starters:
Jacob Padilla – C
Chase Kemp – 1B
Kyle Bergeron – 2B
Logan Sartori – SS
Cole Coker – OF
Ridge Rogers – OF
Bryant Shellenbarger – OF
Henry Bird – SP
Reserves:
Zach DeLeon – RP
Tristan Stivors – RP
Cannon Davis – RP
Brian Williams – RP
Dontae Woodard – RP
Unable to attend:
Ty Coleman
Hunter Coleman
The Legends will face off against the visiting Champions, whose roster consists of members of the Victoria Generals and Acadiana Cane Cutters. The Generals contribute 11 players to the Champions roster.
Henry Bird has been stalwart on the mound for Brazos Valley this season and cemented his All-Star selection with an outstanding six-strikeout, no-walk outing against the Victoria Generals on June 27.
“I am very excited and honored to be a part of the All-Star Game and the Brazos Valley Bombers this season,” said Bird. “It means a lot to be named the starter and see the hard work you put in pay off. I couldn’t be happier!”
Bryant Shellenbarger, who recently notched a Backwall Bombers Position Player of the Week nod for his outstanding offense, will represent the Bombers in the Home Run Derby. The University of Akron commit will face off against Lee Thomas of the Twins, Ryan Flores of the Generals, Tremaine Spears of the Cane Cutters and Logan Lejeune of the Rougarou.
“I’ve been in home run derbies since I was a kid and have never lost,” said Shellenbarger. “I hardly know the players I’m going up against, but I’m just going to go up there and have fun. This break we have from playing should prepare my body for the derby.”
The All-Star festivities will kick off with a player autograph session at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday with the Home Run Derby to follow at 5:55 p.m. First pitch for the All-Star game will be thrown at 7:05 p.m.
The Brazos Valley Bombers clinched the first-half championship in the Texas Collegiate League Sunday and secured home-field advantage for a portion of the three-game divisional round of the 2019 TCL Playoffs.
With a 19-5 record heading into the All-Star Break, the Bombers finished the first half of the season 2.5 games ahead of the 18-9 Victoria Generals in the TCL standings. As a result, the Bombers will play the #4 seed to open this year’s postseason run in the best-of-three divisional round.
The Generals’ second-place finish secures Victoria the #2 seed for the TCL playoffs.
The Bombers have now won or tied for the best record in the first half of the season every year since 2013.
“The sustained excellence of the Bombers in the first half over the years is a testament to the strength of the players and the support of the community,” said General Manager Brian Nelson. “This is an excellent group of ball players, and we see this as a significant achievement for both the Bombers and the Bryan/College Station area.”
Brazos Valley will open the second half at home against the Texarkana Twins on July 5.
