5 Miners Named to All-Star Team
Published on July 4, 2011 under National Association (NA)
Southern Illinois Miners News Release
MARION, Ill. - The Southern Illinois Miners are proud to announce that five Miners have been voted to the 2011 Frontier League West All-Star Team. The 19th Annual Frontier League All-Star Game will be played at All Pro Freight Stadium, home of the Lake Erie Crushers in Avon, Ohio on Wednesday, July 13 at 6:05 p.m. Central Time.
Miners second baseman Will Block has been named the starting second baseman for the West All-Stars. Block is currently second in the batting race with a .358 average and has six home runs. It is the first all-star selection for the third-year Miner. He also has the highest fielding percentage among second basemen in the Frontier League, committing just one error in 175 chances.
"It's an honor to be named an all-star," Block said. "In the past, I've had my ups and downs, but this year I've been able to put it all together for a full half of a season. And it's an honor to be named a starter."
Third baseman Nate Hall has been voted to the all-star team for the second consecutive season and will be joined by Miners starting catcher and fellow all-star reserve Sean Coughlin. Hall is hitting .241 with four home runs and 14 RBIs and leads all third basemen in the league with a .982 fielding percentage. Coughlin is hitting .254 with four home runs and leads the team with 26 RBIs. He is hitting .480 over his last seven games and has helped the pitching staff to a league leading 3.04 ERA.
The Miners will also be represented by two starting pitchers, David Harden and Ryan Zink. Harden is 4-1 and ranks third in the league with a 2.01 ERA. The rookie has lasted at least five innings and never surrendered more than three earned runs in seven starts this season.
Zink joined the Miners a week into the season and has posted a 3-1 record with a 2.53 ERA, which ranks sixth in the league. Including his one start he made with River City to start the year, his team is 7-1 in his eight starts in 2011.
Only the River City Rascals, who have six all-stars, have more than Southern Illinois. The East and West All-Stars will be managed by the skipper of the first place team at the end of play on Wednesday, July 6 for their respective divisions. The final three players for each all star-team will be added by the all-star managers and announced on Thursday, July 7. With the final three player additions, the all-star rosters will total 27 players.
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