Apr 19, 2015 3 min read

Some of the best high school baseball underclassmen in the tri-state area will be in Washington during late June for a unique showcase and all-star game.

One of Ballpark Scholarships Inc.’s projects this year is the Baseball Classic, which will feature a showcase for area players currently in their sophomore seasons of high school along with an all-star game for current juniors.

The event will be held June 29 at Consol Energy Park with the sophomore showcase in the morning and the junior all-star game at night. Starting times are not determined.

The showcase and all-star game are being sponsored by CX Energy. Proceeds from the events will go to BSI’s scholarship fund.

The format of the sophomore showcase will be similar to a professional tryout and will be conducted with pro scouts and coaches from all levels of college baseball in attendance. The all-star game will include the best juniors from the WPIAL, eastern Ohio, the West Virginia panhandle and Morgantown, W.Va., area.

The sophomore showcase is open to any player currently in 10th grade. The players in the junior all-star game must first be nominated by either a high school coach, athletic director or summer baseball league coach. Fifty-six players from those nominated will then be selected by a committee to play in the game.

“We knew the WPIAL Coaches Association was doing a similar project north of Pittsburgh, but that one was geared toward the graduating seniors who will be playing college baseball next year. We decided to do our showcase with juniors and sophomores in mind,” said Leo Trich, one of BSI’s founding members.

With many current high school seniors already decided on a college, and coaches often beginning to recruit high school players who are as young as 15 years old – sometimes even younger – Trich said targeting the underclassmen would help attract more coaches to the showcase.

There will be a fee charged to participate in the showcase, but Trich said BSI’s goal to make the fee about half of what other showcases are charging.

“Any and all proceeds will be used by BSI for scholarships to area high school students who played baseball or softball,” Trich said. “Those scholarship selections are mostly based on academics and the student’s involvement with his or her school and community.

“There are a lot of top-level baseball and softball players who are getting the scholarship money from college programs to help them. But what about the average player who doesn’t have the athletic scholarship but shows leadership traits? Those are the kind of student-athletes we’ve been helping since Day 1.”

BSI, a nonprofit group, was formed in 1999. For more information about BSI and the Baseball Classic, visit www.bsibaseball.com.