Four Oneonta Tigers earned spots Wednesday on the American League squad for the New York-Penn League All-Star Game at State College.
Catcher John Murrian, first baseman Rawley Bishop, left fielder Michael Rockett and left-handed relief pitcher Kenny Faulk will play in the annual exhibition, scheduled for at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday at Medlar Field in Pennsylvania.
Murrian ranks second in the NY-Penn with a .346 batting average. Murrian, who trails Leandro Castro (.357) of the Williamsport Crosscutters, also has four home runs and 31 RBIs.
Bishop is batting .311 and leads Oneonta with five home runs and 32 RBIs. Rockett is hitting .309, with three homers and 25 RBIs.
Those three have helped the O-Tigers to league-bests in team batting average (.259) and runs (239).
Faulk is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA and a team-best eight saves. He has struck out 23 and walked 13 over 21 innings.
Oneonta is tied for fifth for the most All-Star selections in the 14-team league. Brooklyn and Staten Island have six All-Stars apiece, and Lowell and Williamsport each have five. Oneonta joined Mahoning Valley, Tri-City, Vermont and Jamestown with four All-Stars apiece. Auburn, Aberdeen, State College, Batavia and Hudson Valley each have three All-Star selections.
The O-Tigers' entered Wednesday with a half-game lead over Lowell in the Stedler Division but were rained out at State College and fell a half-game behind the Spinners, who swept a doubleheader at Jamestown.
Lowell (29-23) beat the Jammers, 3-1 and 1-0, to knock Oneonta out of first place for the first time this season. The Tigers were tied atop the Stedler with Tri-City on June 30 _ both teams were 5-4 at the time _ before taking control of the first place with a 3-0 victory at Aberdeen on July 1. Tri-City fell, 5-4, the same day.
Oneonta (27-22), which has lost seven of its last nine, will play a doubleheader at State College at 5:05 p.m. today. The Spikes (27-25) are third in the Pinckney Division, which is led by Mahoning Valley (34-19). The Scrappers have the best record in the NY-Penn.
Following today's doubleheader, the Tigers head to McNamara Division leader Brooklyn (33-20) for a three-game series that begins at 7 p.m. Friday.
The NY-Penn will take its All-Star break Monday and Tuesday. Oneonta then returns to Damaschke Field for a 7:05 p.m. game next Wednesday against Williamsport, which will be in town for a three-game set.
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