University of Georgia Athletics
Past And Present Bulldogs Earn All-Star Honors
July 12, 2007 | Baseball
As one of the top sluggers in the Coastal Plain League, University of Georgia infielder Rich Poythress is headed to the CPL All-Star Game which will be held Tuesday, July 17 in Columbia, S.C. Poythress, a member of the Thomasville (N.C.) HitToms, is hitting .335 with a league-leading 34 RBI. He ranks second in the league with nine home runs and a .655 slugging percentage. The HiToms, who are the defending 2006 CPL champions, lead the Western Division with a 24-11 mark. As a freshman for the Bulldogs last season, Poythress overcame a serious knee injury, played in 45 games and batted .282-3-24.
Georgia shortstop Gordon Beckham and pitcher Dean Weaver are a couple of other Bulldogs showing All-Star potential in their respective summer leagues. Beckham leads the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) with a .583 slugging percentage and six home runs while batting .310. The CCBL All-Star game will be July 28 in Wareham, Mass. Weaver is having the best season among the Bulldogs playing for Keene (N.H.) SwampBats of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL). He leads the club with a 3-1 mark, 2.88 ERA and 33 strikeouts and only seven walks in 34.1 innings pitched. The NECBL All-Star game is slated for July 22 in North Adams, Mass.
Former Georgia All-America shortstop Jeff Keppinger (UGA 1999-2001) was named to the International League (IL) team for the Triple-A All-Star game earlier this week in Albuquerque, New Mexico. However, Keppinger, a member of the Louisville Bats, was called up to the Majors by Cincinnati and did not play in the game. He was leading the IL with a .368 batting average and had hit safely in 52 of 57 games. Earlier this year, he played in three games with the Reds and batted .250. Keppinger has made starts at first base, second base, third base, and left field for the Bats this season.
Meanwhile, former Bulldog third baseman Lee Mitchell (UGA 2001-03) earned Most Valuable Player honors in the Southern League All-Star game earlier this week in Pearl, Miss. Mitchell drove in two runs and made a spectacular defensive play to end an inning in the North's 7-4 win before a crowd of 4,555. Mitchell, a sixth round pick of the Florida Marlins, is batting .295-17-55 for the Carolina Mudcats, the Double-A affiliate of the Marlins.
Earlier this summer, former Bulldog All-American outfielder Joey Side (UGA 2004-06) and pitcher Brooks Brown (UGA 2004-06) were named Mid-Season All-Stars. Side, a sixth round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks, is batting .319-1-35 for South Bend of the Midwest League while Brown, a supplemental first round pick of Arizona, has been promoted to Double-A Mobile. Brown went 6-3 with a 2.81 ERA in 14 starts for the Visalia Oaks of the California League before moving up to the BayBears of the Southern League. In three starts for the BayBears, he is 1-0 with a 1.72 ERA.
Also, former Bulldog pitcher Mitchell Boggs (UGA 2003-05), made his second straight All-Star appearance for the St. Louis Cardinals organization. A former fifth round pick, he made the 2007 Texas League Mid-Season All-Star squad. Currently, Boggs is in Double-A with the Springfield Cardinals, and he's 8-3 with a 3.83 ERA in 16 starts.
