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story by Joe Sherman
photo by Rick Heath
July 9, 2010
OMAHA, NE
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Cotuit first
baseman Paul Hoilman (East Tennessee State) now
owns a piece of hardware that is unique in college
baseball. Hoilman out-slugged seven competitors and won
the inaugural
TD Ameritrade College Home Run Derby held Wednesday at
Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb., home of the College
World Series. The event was taped by CBS and shown
Sunday afternoon on the CBS Sports Spectacular.
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Paul
Hoilman drives a pitch for Cotuit |
He was awarded the trophy after belting 12 homers
in the final round to easily outdistance fellow
finalists Matt Skole (Falmouth and Georgia Tech)
and Jordan Ribera (Yarmouth-Dennis and Fresno
State), who could manage just one long ball between
them. Skole was the leader with
six homers in the first round; Hoilman was close behind
with five.
The field for the College Home Run Derby was
selected from a pool of eligible players that ranked
among the nation’s home run leaders during the 2010
college baseball season. Five of the eight competitors
are currently playing in the Cape Cod Baseball League.
In addition to Hoilman, Skole and Ribera, there were two
Chatham players ---- Ricky Oropesa (USC) and Dan
Paolini (Siena).
Hoilman, who was pitched to by East Tennessee
manager Tony Skole, Matt’s uncle, hit seven home runs
in his first 11 swings in the finals before recording
five straight outs. He them whacked the next seven balls
out of the park to leave Ribera and Skole in the dust.
Ribera could manage just one dinger in the finals, Skole
none.
Entering Sunday’s game, Hoilman had hit two
home runs as a Kettleer. He ranked fifth in the nation
with a school-record 25 homers last season for East
Tennessee. Ribera led the nation with 27 homers for
Fresno State. He had just one as an Angler prior to
Sunday’s game.
The televised completion in Omaha featured
Hall-of-Famer Mike Schmidt and 2010 Hall of Fame
inductee Andre Dawson as honorary hitting coaches.
Former American League MVP Frank Thomas (Orleans,
1988) served as color commentator for the telecast.
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