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Event Spotlight:
ACBL 2002 All-Star Game

Wednesday, July 3, 2002

By Tom Bonekemper
Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League Correspondent

The Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League will hold its 36th annual All-Star game at Campbell's Field, home of the Camden Riversharks on July 8 at 7:00 p.m. The ACBL is one of eight summer leagues nationwide, which are sanctioned by the NCAA and partially funded by Major League Baseball.

This intraleague contest features the Kaiser Division (Long Island Collegians, Metro New Cadets, New York Generals and New Jersey Colts) against the Wolff Division (Delaware Valley Gulls, Jersey Pilots, Quakertown Blazers and Scranton Red Soxx).

The Wolff Division will be led by Rider stars Casey Long, New Jersey Division I Player of the Year, and Carl Loadenthal. Long is hitting .350 with three home runs while Loadenthal has a .340 average with four triples. Dan Gentekos (West Chester), Matt Powell (Temple) and Brian Ursone (Temple) top the pitching staff. Gentekos has not allowed an earned run in 16 innings with a 3-0 record. Powell is 4-0, and Ursone has a 2-0 log with a 0.70 ERA.

Steve Echevarria (Brookdale) is the offensive leader for the Kaiser Division with a .348 average and tops the league in hits and RBIs. The pitching leaders are Keith Haack (Queens) with a 3-1 record and 0.32 ERA and Sean Kramer (Iona), the league leader in strikeouts. Kramer was a 33rd round Chicago White Sox selection in the 2001 Draft. Wes Swackhamer (Florida), a 19th round White Sox pick in the same draft, is also a member of the Kaiser Division team.

Known as "The Gateway to Professional Baseball", the ACBL has sent more than 1,500 graduates into professional baseball including over seventy players who have played in the Major Leagues. Former ACBL players include names of the past such as Rick Cerone, Dennis Leonard and Frank Viola. Current standouts are Craig Biggio, Matt Morris and Jamie Moyer. Potential stars Kevin Gryboski, Mike Koplove and Ryan Vogelsong are also ACBL alumni.

©2002 South Jersey Sports Online Inc.