Bladel Outlasts Tobin To Win Home Run Derby
West Springfield's Tucker Tobin (Left) and Stone Bridge's Johnny Bladel (Right) connect with the baseball in Friday's Home Run Derby contest at Chantilly High School. Bladel eventually won with an impressive performance in the finals.
Photo By; Marc Gold / Phil Dolinger / Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
Potomac Falls senior Rob Malan hits a towering home run in the first round on Friday night. Malan advanced to the semifinals.
Photo By; Marc Gold / Phil Dolinger / Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
Chantilly's Brian King had the tough job of leading the Derby off, but he was able to park one to advance to the second round on Friday Night.
Photo By; Marc Gold / Phil Dolinger / Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
CHANTILLY, VA - Just 24 hours away from the 1st All Star Game, the two teams came out Friday night to enjoy Home Run Derby. The stage was set for some excitement with sluggers from all over Northern Virginia competing to be the first Derby Champion, and when it was all said and done, Stone Bridge's Johnny Bladel was the only left standing.
West Springfield's Tucker Tobin had the most impressive first round, smashing two blasts out to right field from the left side.
Tobin's first round was the best of all of the competitors, partly due to the size of Chantilly's field. Several of the players put balls off of the fence, or right in front of it, but 4 of the 9 hitters in round one ended up with a goose egg on the scoreboard.
"It was definitely tough being out there hitting with no sound or anything," Tobin said. "But it was fun, I just tried to relax and see if I could get in a groove."
Joining Tobin in the second round was Stone Bridge's Johnny Bladel, Valley's Wes Walker, Chantilly's Brian King, and Rob Malan from Potomac Falls, all of whom hit one homer in the first round.
"I was just trying to get one," Bladel said. "A lot of hitters were struggling to get one, so I just wanted to get on the board with one."
Two of the players considered by many to be among the favorites couldn't get past the first round. Ryan Williams from Westfield, and Ryan Moriarty from Potomac struggled to find their rhythm, and bowed out after their first 10 outs.
Round two started with King leading off again like he had at the beginning of the event, but the tall right handed hitter couldn't muster a home run in the second time up.
"I was just rolling over the ball a little too much," King said. "I just couldn't get one out."
Bladel then walked to the plate and started to look like Ken Griffey Jr from the right side, literally. He turned his hat backwards and went to work, hitting 3 out to take a firm lead in the second round.
Tobin followed Bladel's 3-homer round with another solid performance, hitting one towering blast from the left side. Tobin advanced to the finals against Bladel when Malan, King, and Walker failed to send one over the fence in their second at bats.
Since Bladel had hit more home runs in the second round, he had the option of going first or second in the championship round, and the Bulldog slugger chose to put the pressure on Tobin by hitting first.
With the crowd behind him, and his head coach Sam Plank throwing to him, Bladel got hot at the plate. He hit two towering home runs, and one that sailed way over the scoreboard. He hit the top of the fence once, and the middle of the fence on several more shots, and finished his final round with two home runs on the scoreboard. After his performance, Bladel said he felt good about his chances to win.
"The wind is starting to blow out toward left, so I'm hoping it will keep his {Tucker Tobin's} ball down some toward right," Bladel said.
The wind may or may not have played a factor in Tobin's final round, but after quickly accumulating 6 outs, he switched to the right side to try his luck there.
"I just wasn't hitting them left handed, so I switched to the right side," Tobin said.
After getting down to his final two outs, Tobin hammered a ball out in left center, and pulled within one of Bladel. But in his final two swings, he wasn't able to deliver another blast, and Bladel became the first Gameday Home Run Derby Champion.
"I had a lot of close ones, like 3 that went off the wall in that last round," Bladel said. "I got kind of mad, but I just relaxed and hit the other two out."
COACH HAYES' ANALYSIS:
Presented By: Diamond Sports Training
Hitting in a Home Run Derby is quite different than hitting in a game against regular pitching. Most of the guys competing in the Derby were line drive hitters, and they struggled to adjust their swings. It didn't help that they were also trying to hit it out at Chantilly, a field that is not friendly to the long ball. But Bladel and Tobin looked un-phased by the dimensions of the field.
Tobin had the best first round, and probably strategy wise, should have stayed the entire night hitting left handed. However, he did hit a bomb from the right side too, so who am I to question his move. He confirmed with his power and swing on Friday why he was one of the most dangerous hitters in the Northern Region this year.
Bladel really got in a groove, and nearly hit several more out of the park. He was the hitter that showed the most power in the Derby, and he gave all in attendance some exciting shots to watch sail over the left field fence.
It was a fun start to All Star Weekend, and the All Star Game should be even more fun with the first pitch scheduled for 7pm Saturday at Chantilly High School.
