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Home Run Derby to be at USS Yorktown

Ten players from South Atlantic League will participate
June 12, 2012
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- When the Charleston RiverDogs received the 53rd annual South Atlantic League All-Star Game, they set out to make this Midsummer Classic memorable. One of the main events surrounding the game will be the Miller High Life Home Run Derby from the deck of the USS Yorktown, which is stationed at Patriots Point. The 10 participants for the event have been chosen from the All-Star Game rosters. The contestants include RiverDogs outfielder Tyler Austin, who has been among the league leaders in home runs all season.

Miller High Life, a proud sponsor of the event, is helping to make it happen. Miller High Life has been an American pastime for more than 100 years and is always a big hit with baseball fans. On hand at the derby will be The Miller High Life Deliveryman, Windell Middlebrooks, who fans should know from the company's popular and entertaining commercials. He will be at the Home Run Derby making sure that as many people as possible get a piece of the "High Life." He will also be accompanying veterans to the event as part of the "Welcome Veterans Back to the High Life" program, aimed at providing veterans with thousands of memorable "High Life" experiences, such as tickets to professional sporting events and concerts all summer long.

In what will possibly be the first ever Home Run Derby from the flight deck of a carrier, the first round of the Home Run Derby will be held on the ship on June 18 at 11 a.m. The championship round will be held at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park on Tuesday, beginning at 5:15 p.m. prior to the start of the All-Star Game, which is sponsored by General Dynamics Land Systems Force Protection Industries Inc. and the Charleston Restaurant Association.

The derby will include five players from the SAL Northern Division and five from the Southern Division. The roster for the contest is as follows:

Southern Division
Tyler Austin - Charleston
Harold Riggins - Asheville
William Swanner - Asheville
Travis Taijeron - Savannah
Zachary Johnson - Lexington

Northern Division
Matthew Skole - Hagerstown
Rangel Ravelo - Kannapolis
Mark Haddow - Kannapolis
Alen Hanson - West Virginia
Gregory Polanco - West Virginia

The early rounds of the derby on the carrier are free to attend as long as you mention the All-Star Game at the gate. Fans need a ticket to the All-Star Game to see the championship round on Tuesday.

Tickets for the All-Star Game are now on sale at the RiverDogs' Box Office at 843/577-DOGS (3647) and online at www.riverdogs.com.