Bowie's Aderlin Rodriguez Wins Thrilling HR Derby

Manchester, N.H. - After a thrilling head-to-head tournament of power hitting prowess, Bowie Baysox slugger Aderlin Rodriguez took home the title of Jordan's Furniture Tempur-Pedic Home Run Derby Champion in Day 1 of the Northeast Delta Dental Eastern League All-Star Festivities Tuesday night.
In the opening round, Rodriguez eliminated Richmond's Slade Heathcott, 7-6, with a clinching blast off the left field foul pole. He then handled Fisher Cats infielder Gunnar Heidt by the same score in the semifinals, before blasting 14 homers in the final round to narrowly edge Erie's Gabriel Quintana, who hit 13.
Quintana stole the show in the semifinal round with a jaw-dropping 18 homer performance, bringing the Northeast Delta Dental Stadium crowd to its feet. The Detroit Tigers power prospect finished the event with 37 home runs to lead the field. Heidt pulled off the biggest upset of the eight-slugger tournament, beating top-seeded Mitch Walding, 8-7, in the opening round.

The Fisher Cats hometown favorite, Ryan McBroom, was ousted in the first round by Akron's Yu-Cheng Chang, 5-4. As part of the Jordan's Furniture Tempur-Pedic Home Run Derby, fan contestant Jason Russell of Salem, N.H. -- assigned to champion Aderlin Rodriguez before the tournament -- won a Tempur-Pedic mattress valued at up to $2,800.
Sarah Booth of Chelmsford, Mass. and Allan Beaudet of Raymond, N.H. each won Tempur-Pedic pillows valued up to $100, as their home run representatives -- Heidt and Quintana -- each hit bonus targets on the Samuel Adams Brewhouse.
The Northeast Delta Dental Eastern League All-Star Festivities continue with the All-Star Game on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are still available at NHFisherCats.com/allstar, and include an All-Star autograph session that begins at 4 p.m.