The participants are set for this year’s West Coast League All-Star Game Home Run Derby. The night before the All-Star Game, on Monday, July 22, the annual slugfest will take place at Vince Genna Stadium in Bend. The derby will begin at 7:05 pm and admission is free. There is also a fireworks show scheduled to take place at Vince Genna Stadium after the derby.

The event will include Bellingham’s Troy Viola, who leads the league with seven home runs. The San Jose State slugger has been a standout for the Bells throughout the season and has the third-most RBIs in the league with 24.

Matthew Christian of Port Angeles is right behind Viola with six blasts this summer. Christian will represent the Lefties when he swings for the fences at the home of the Bend Elks on Monday.

Both Briley Knight of Corvallis and Jason Willow of Victoria will participate in the derby. Knight and Willow are tied for the third-most homers in the league this season with five.

For fans that can not make it to Vince Genna Stadium on Monday there will be a video stream of the event provide by the Bend Elks.

Home Run Derby Lineup:

Bellingham Bells: Troy Viola of San Jose State
Bend Elks: Gabe Gonzalez of Los Angeles Mission College
Corvallis Knights: Briley Knight of Utah
Cowlitz Black Bears: Andres Sosa of Dallas Baptist
Kelowna Falcons: Cole Cummings of Pima CC
Port Angeles Lefties: Matthew Christian of Campbell
Portland Pickles: Connor Wojahn of Clark College
Ridgefield Raptors: Michael Hicks of Boise State
Victoria HarbourCats: Jason Willow of UC Santa Barbara
Walla Walla Sweets: Patrick Caulfield of UCLA
Wenatchee AppleSox: Ryan Altenberger of Xavier
Yakima Valley Pippins: Joe Magrisi of Cal State Fullerton

The participants will each get 10 outs. Any ball made contact with and that does not end up as a home run is considered an out. Batters will alternate between players representing the North Division and South Division. The players with the most home runs from each the North and South will advance to face each other in the final round.

The 2019 West Coast League All-Star Game is set for Tuesday, July 23rd at Vince Genna Stadium in Bend. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 pm.

About the West Coast League:

The West Coast League (WCL) is the premier summer collegiate baseball league west of the Mississippi. Situated in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, the 15-year-old, 12-team, professionally operated wood-bat league showcases pro prospects from major conferences around the nation. Every summer, the league features unparalleled fan and player experiences, with the best summer weather in North America. Ninety alums and current players of WCL teams were selected in the 2019 MLB Draft, including the No. 1 overall pick Adley Rutschman. In 2018, 294 WCL alums appeared or were active in affiliated professional baseball, including 39 in the major leagues, such as 2019 MLB All-Star Game MVP Shane Bieber (Cleveland Indians); standout outfielder Mitch Haniger (Seattle Mariners); ace hurler James Paxton (New York Yankees); slugger Rhys Hoskins (Philadelphia Phillies); and rising star pitchers Marco Gonzales (Seattle Mariners) and Matt Boyd (Detroit Tigers). Overall member attendance was 496,278 this past summer, a tremendous increase of 20 percent over the previous season.