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Red Sox and Kettleers Lead All-League Team Selection

08/16/2006 10:24 AM

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17 August 2006

THIS WEEK IN THE CAPE LEAGUE
2006

ALL-LEAGUE TEAM SELECTIONS 

Red Sox and Kettleers Lead All-League Team

CAPE COD, Mass. – In a league loaded with the best college players in the nation, you can bet it was not easy whittling down such an enormous field of talent into just twenty-two phenomenal players. Following an amazing season with an incredible finish, the 2006 CCBL All-League Team has been announced by league commissioner Paul Galop after being selected by the league’s field managers.

     Cotuit and Y-D, the two best teams during the regular season, each had four of their players chosen. Another four players came from the Falmouth Commodores, a team that struggled in the beginning but put together an impressive 7-3 run to finish out the season.

     A look around the All-League diamond shows no weakness, with each player adding his own dynamic threat to the lineup.

     At first base stands Justin Smoak (South Carolina), the slugger for Cotuit. Smoak led the league in home runs with 11, while driving in 27 runs for the Kettleers. A teammate of Smoak’s, Eric Farris (Loyola Marymount), was chosen as All-League second baseman for his .298 batting average and his speedy legs that carried him to a league-leading 17 stolen bases while only being caught twice.

     Buster Posey (Florida State), a favorite of the champion Y-D Red Sox, was chosen as the league’s best shortstop, following a season when he scored 23 times and bashed opposing pitchers for 46 hits (second in the league). Beside Posey, Matt Mangini (Oklahoma State) holds down the hot corner, representing the Hyannis Mets. As a third baseman, Mangini led the league in batting average (.310) and hits (48).

     Rounding out the infield is Orleans Cardinals catcher Matt Wieters (Georgia Tech), who toted a .307 batting average and a .417 on-base percentage, good for second in both categories. Falmouth catcher Mitch Canham (Oregon State) was also named to the All-League Team.

     The outfield is patrolled by Falmouth’s Brad Chalk (Clemson), Y-D’s Tyler Henley (Rice), and Cotuit’s Matt Angle (Ohio State), with Hyannis center fielder David Macias (Vanderbilt) and his .281 batting average in the fourth spot.

     Whitecaps powerhouse Matt LaPorta (Florida) earned DH honors on the All-League Team with his .463 slugging percentage, 6 home runs, and 19 RBIs. LaPorta shined during Brewster’s three-game playoff series with the Y-D Red Sox, putting together a .375 average along with a homer before his team fell to the champions-to-be. Brett Wallace (Arizona State), the DH for Falmouth, was also named to the All-League Team after he drove in 22 runs during the regular season.

     The All-League Team’s pitching staff is led by Brewster’s Shaun Seibert (Arkansas) and Y-D’s Terry Doyle (Boston College). Seibert was 6-0 during the regular season, and he also put together a league-best 0.39 ERA in 46 innings pitched, allowing only 26 hits while recording a total of 36 strikeouts. Doyle followed closely behind Seibert with five wins, but his dominance showed in how he shut down opposing hitters – his 52 strikeouts were unmatched.

     Cotuit’s James Simmons (UC Riverside), Harwich’s Dan Merklinger (Seton Hall) and Hyannis’s Charlie Furbush (St. Joseph’s-Maine) round out the rest of the All-League rotation, which has a combined regular season record of 22-6.

     In the pen for the All-League Team are two bulls who know how to shut the door and seal a victory for their team. Joshua Fields (Georgia) helped lead his Red Sox to their championship with 13 saves. In the West Division, Sam Demel (TCU) was vital to Falmouth’s resurgence at the end of the season, racking up 12 saves – contributing to more than half of his team’s victories.

     Josh Donaldson (Auburn), Dominic de la Osa (Vanderbilt) and Matt Cusick (USC) were named to the All-League Team in utility spots for their effectiveness in multiple positions. Donaldson split his time evenly between the outfield and catching; de la Osa showed his talents at both shortstop and in the outfield; and Cusick proved his value at both corners of the infield.

     Only in the Cape Cod Baseball League can so much young baseball talent be brought together in one place. And you can be sure that the players named to the All-League Team are well on their way to joining the hundreds of other Cape Leaguers playing professionally.

By Adam McGillen, CCBL Intern [email protected]
 

John Garner, Jr.
Director of Public Relations & Broadcasting
(508) 790-0394 [email protected] 

Will Bussiere
Web Editor
[email protected]

Interns 2006 : Chad Burkart, Johnna DeChristoforo, Jonathan French, Michael Kydd, Lauren Malone
Adam McGillen, Nicholas Mucci, Courtney Reilly, Daniel Scalia, Shannon Taylor, Kevin Wolfe