Area baseball stars!!!

Recent Frontier graduate Dylan Sterrett wasn't sure who his potential opponents were for today's Fifth Annual Mr. Baseball Classic in Noblesville.

Yet the Chicago State-bound pitcher/infielder looked forward to challenging whoever stands in against him.

"It won't be like pitching a Class 1A game, where you have 15 strikeouts," Sterrett said. "Everybody's going to be able to hit it. I probably have to throw my best game. It should be a great experience."

Sterrett is one of five area players who will compete in today's 2 p.m. game, organized by Hoosier Diamond and sponsored by Community Health Network. Admission at Don Dunker Field is $4.

Sterrett and North Montgomery pitcher/first baseman Cody Nickle will play for the Red Team. Crawfordsville's Steven Rice and A.J. Ehrlich and Central Catholic's Scott Windler are on the Blue Team.

CC's Taylor Glaze and Clinton Central's Dylan Padgett were also nominated and will appear on the ballot for Mr. Baseball, to be announced in early July.

"It will be a great experience," said Windler, who recently led Central Catholic to a repeat Class A state championship. "It's kind of special for me that I got nominated. It will give me a great opportunity to see what the next level is like."

Windler, Sterrett (Franklin), Ehrlich (Hanover) and Rice (Vanderbilt) are all preparing to join college programs. Today's game allows them a peek at a higher caliber of talent.

Sterrett and Windler will also be among the Class A players stepping up to take on players from some of the state's largest schools.

"I've never played against 4A schools," said Sterrett, who lost only two pitching decisions in his four-year varsity career. "I don't know if the challenge is any different; we're all high school kids."

WHMB-TV 40 will broadcast the game on tape delay on Friday. Hamilton County Television will broadcast the game on July 3rd (noon), 4th (2 p.m.) and 6th (9 p.m.).

Local all-stars

Ryan Black singled and doubled to lead the Class 4A West to an 8-3 victory over the East in Saturday's Postyourt.org All-Star games at Milligan Park in Crawfordsville.

Black singled to lead off the bottom of the first and opened the door for a six-run inning. He also doubled and scored in the fourth. North Montgomery's Cody Nickle hit a two-run home run for the East.

Several area players contributed to a 14-2 West victory in the Class A baseball game. Frontier grad Frank Fisk's two-out RBI single in the first started the scoring, and he and Central Catholic's Scott Windler and Taylor Glaze all singled during a three-run third inning.

CC's Reed Drysdale and Cole Hruiskovich each scored twice, and teammate Chas Bobillo had a pair of RBIs. Tri-County's Ryan Beckley also scored for the West.

In the Class 3A West's 3-2 victory, North Montgomery's Matt Cunningham had an RBI single, and Chargers teammate Joey Clifton scored a run.

The first game of the softball doubleheader ended in a 1-1 tie, with Crawfordsville's Ariel Hinton scoring the West's lone run. In Game 2, Athenian Chelsea Day scored a run, and Hinton drove in another in a 9-6 West victory.