Regency to host two All-Star games

Friday, July 3, 2009

Project Healing Waters is dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active duty military personnel and veterans through fly fishing and fly tying educations and outings. 

First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. and the gates will open at 5:30.

Tickets to the game are $8, with $4 from every ticket going directly to the cause of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing.

Tickets are free for active duty military and their dependents with valid identification. A spectacular fireworks show will follow the game.

The U.S. Military All-Stars and the Red, White, and Blue Tour are currently celebrating their 20th season by visiting over 40 states and eight countries, competing against nearly 100 professional and summer collegiate teams, including the Boston Red Sox earlier this spring.

The team is comprised of baseball players serving in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, National Guard and Navy.

To purchase tickets, or for more information, call 301-638-9788, or go to SOMD

BlueCrabs.com or USMili

taryAllStars.us. For more information on Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, go to ProjectHealingWaters.org.

Another Regency

All-Star event

The prospects of tomorrow are coming to Regency Furniture Stadium on July 15 as the Blue Crabs host the all-stars of the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League, as they take on the all-stars from the Valley Baseball League at 7:05 p.m.

The night's festivities will begin with a home run derby at 5:30 p.m., with the game starting at 7:05.

The gates at Regency Furniture Stadium will open at 4:30.

Admission to the game is free. No tickets are required to attend the game. The game will be televised live on MASN, the cable home of the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals.

The two leagues are summer collegiate circuits that use wood bats and play in June and July while the players are on break from school. The rosters of the teams in the leagues are comprised of college baseball players from all over the country, including several Division I prospects.

The leagues' function serves as a way for college players to prepare for a professional career by playing against a high level of competition during the summer months, as they make the transition from playing in games with aluminum bats to wood bats.

The Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League was founded in 2005, and is named after former Baltimore Orioles manager and father of Orioles great Cal Ripken Jr.

Its teams are located throughout Maryland and Virginia, and include the Alexandria Aces, Bethesda Big Train, College Park Bombers, Herndon Braves, Maryland Redbirds, Rockville Express, Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts and Youse's Orioles.

The Valley Baseball League, which is a neighboring league located throughout the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, includes the Covington Lumberjacks, Fauquier Gators, Front Royal Cardinals, Harrisonburg Turks, Haymarket Senators, Luray Wranglers, New Market Rebels, Rockbridge Rapids, Staunton Braves, Waynesboro Generals, Winchester Royals and the Woodstock River Bandits.

Pitchers Joe Smith and Brett Cecil were the first Ripken League alums to reach the majors.

Smith made his big league debut with the New York Mets in 2007, and currently plays for the Cleveland Indians. Cecil made his Major League debut earlier this season with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Notable Valley League alumni currently playing in the Major Leagues include David Eckstein, Brandon Inge, Mike Lowell and Juan Pierre among several others. The Valley League has also produced current Orioles Aubrey Huff and Luke Scott.

For more information on the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League, go to RipkenSrCollegeBaseball.org.

For more information on the Valley Baseball League, go to ValleyLeagueBaseball.com.