By Thomas Grant Jr.
The top All-Stars of the Coastal Plain League are headed back to Lexington County Baseball Stadium.
The home of the Lexington County Blowfish will once again hold the CPL All-Star Show. The 2-day event begins Tuesday with the All-Star Fan Fest, a skills competition, and Home Run Derby.
The following day, the CPL All-Star game will take place pitting the East Division and West Division. Lexington County had four players selected to the game:
-Catcher Ryan Ouzts: The Gilbert native out of Presbyterian Collegiate made his second All-Star game and his first as a starter. Ouzts has played in 12 games and leads all CPL catchers in homers (5) and RBI (15).
– Outfielder Dariyan Pendergrass: The College of Charleston transfer, is third in the CPL in steals at 19 and first in steals per game (1.27). The Hartsville native is hitting .321 with 9 RBI in just 15 games.
– Second baseman Cooper Blauser: A late addition to the Blowfish, the Georgia native is hitting .421 in 14 games. His father, former Atlanta Brave Jeff Blauser, played in the 1993 and 1997 MLB All-Star games.
– Pitcher Cade Bouknight: The Batesburg-Leesville graduate, now attending USC-Aiken, has thrown a 1.55 ERA and won four games in six appearances.
This marks the third time the Blowfish organization will host the league’s midsummer classic, having previously hosted the event in 2007 and 2018.
“It’s an honor for our organization to host the 2023 CPL All-Star game,” Blowfish General Manager Tony Baldwin said. “The CPL is one of the premier summer collegiate leagues in the country, and it’s very exciting to know that the best players in the league will be able to showcase their skills in this memorable two-day event at Lexington County Baseball Stadium. We look forward to welcoming fans from around the CPL to our community and see some of the game’s up-and-coming stars.”
Fans who purchase a 10-game, 15-game or full-season ticket package with the Blowfish will also receive tickets to both days of the All-Star Show. Single-day tickets for the event will be released ahead of the 2023 season opener.
For more information, call the ticket office at (803) 254-3474.