Appy League All-Star game was exciting contest
Jul. 27—KINGSPORT, Tenn. — The 2021 Appalachian League All-Star Game ended with a home run derby, and the 2022 edition concluded with a walk-off single in the 10th. The latest version of the wood-bat collegiate circuit's midsummer classic was a less powerful, but equally exciting contest.
The West took home a 3-2 victory over the East on Tuesday in Kingsport's Hunter Wright Stadium, thanks to an eighth-inning sacrifice fly off the bat of Greeneville outfielder Nick Barone (West Virginia).
The contest featured 19 pitchers and 24 position players, and despite the relatively low score, it presented a solid mix of pitching, defense, baserunning and timely hitting.
Thirty-one Appy League alums were selected in the 2023 Draft, an all-time high since the league switched to its current format two years ago, and nine of those went in the first five rounds alone led by 38th overall pick Ty Floyd (Reds).
The loop's Draft success highlights just how soon some of Tuesday's All-Stars could become prominent names in the professional baseball sphere and the upper levels of college ball even sooner.
