Tuesday, July 22, 2008
HUNTINGBURG, Ind. — With a more favorable wind, Tradewater Pirates standout Justin Long might have come away victorious in the second annual K.I.T.-C.I.C.L. All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night, but instead he left a few on the warning track.
Long represented the Pirates in the derby and jacked one of the team’s four home runs, and he had a few of his outs fall just short of the left-field fence.
“I stopped and watched them,” Long said. “I thought I had a chance on them, but they just didn’t want to go out today. There was a little breeze blowing in, I’ll blame it on that.”
Paired with three other K.I.T. players, Long faced off against four selected batters from the C.I.C.L. Each batter received 10 outs in the first round, and those moving on got seven outs in the second round to determine the winner.
As the event’s first contestant, Long naturally felt a bit of anxiety.
“That’s tough going up and being the first guy,” Long said. “I would have liked that somebody else went first. But it’s OK, it’s all good fun.”
Long wasn’t the only one with reason to be nervous, though — delivering the pitches was Tradewater coach Kurt Elbin.
Elbin was charged with putting each pitch in Long’s wheelhouse.
“I just asked him where he wanted them and he told me high and tight, and that’s where I was putting them,” Elbin said. “I thought I gave him some pitches to hit. You could tell he was a little nervous, but he had a good time.”
Long began by hitting back-to-back line drives to left field and finally, with four outs, connected with one and sent a no-doubter over the fence. He appeared to make it a multiple-homer day, sending long fly balls through the evening air, but outs six and nine dropped harmlessly at the warning track.
After his at-bat, Long discussed his approach to his first career home-run derby.
“Just go out there and have fun,” Long said. “I told coach to leave it up high because I like the high pitches. He put it up there, but I missed a couple. I got a couple hits, got one out. It went well for me I guess.”
For Elbin, it was also his first derby, and he echoed Long’s enthusiasm about the event.
“It was a lot of fun, and that’s why we’re here,” Elbin said. “We’ve been having a lot of fun today, and that’s just part of the festivities.”
Once Long finished his turn, he watched as Michael Burgary hit two home runs and added a blast that went barely foul.
“This guy is going to take it from me I think,” Long said.
Long’s prediction proved to be true. Burgary and two other hitters tied with two home runs each after the first round. Burgary walked off with the trophy in the second round when he hit a home run after the first two contestants failed to do so.
Despite coming up short, Long said the experience was enjoyable.
“That was a blast, that was a lot of fun,” he said. “It was a little nervy out there, but high pitches got to me.”
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