Jake Adams puts on show in HR Derby
ValleyCats star hits 37 homers
TROY, N.Y. » It wasn’t so much a celebration for Jake Adams when he went to one knee after winning the home run derby in the final seconds of the final round.
He went to the ground out of pure exhaustion. After hitting 37 home runs, the big guy needed a break.
“I was tired,” Adams said. “I just wanted to lay down and catch my breath a little bit. It was cool. All the All- Stars were coming out and congratulating me.”
Adams said he tried to conserve energy in the first two rounds. He ended his second round a minute early after hitting 12 home runs, more than the rest of the field in any round. For the NCAA”s leader in home runs, and the NYPL’s leader in home runs, it wasn’t unexpected. But he put on a tremendous show.
It was an up-and- down day for the ValleyCats players on Tuesday night. Adams had the home run derby win. But Reggie Johnson, the unheralded undrafted free agent who is having a stellar season in Tri- City, gave up three runs in the ninth to give the South All- Stars a 5-2 win. J. J. Matijevic also got through one round in the derby, and went
2-for-3 in the game with a double.
In front of more than 5,000 fans at Joe Bruno Stadium, fans were treated to an afternoon of autograph sessions, home runs derbys and a baseball game. It was a game that also featured three home runs in a league where players’ power typically still has to mature.
There was no scoring until the fifth inning. After that Zac Law ( Hudson Valley), Colby Bortles (Connecticut), and yes, the brother of Jacksonville Jaguars QB Blake Bortles, and Tristan Gray ( West Virginia) all hit home run.
Law’s homer tied it in the sixth. Bortles’ homer tied it in the eighth after Gray hit a tie-breaking home run in the seventh. There was never going to be extra innings in the exhibition game, but Johnson’s pitching woes made
sure that was not going to be of concern. None of the pitchers went more than an inning, and no one threw more than 24 pitches.
By the waning innings, many of the fans had started to pack up and leave. It had been a long afternoon at the ballpark.
For the ValleyCats, the main star was a player who didn’t even crack the All- Star roster, but who displayed Major League power. For his troubles, he walked home with $250 from the Troy- area res-
taurant Slidin’ Dirty, and experience. His bat gave away 37 baseballs to kids roaming in the grass past the left field wall. Of the eight batters, there were 110 home runs total. But even an exhausted Adams hit the most and hit them the farthest.
“That’s kind of what I’m here for is my home runs,” Adams said. “They all kind of expected me to come out here and make some noise. This is a great cause to be a part of and I’m glad I got asked to do it.”