UKIAH — Game director Juan Jauregui said he expects Lake County teams to provide another strong roster for the 11th annual NCL West vs. NCL East High School Senior All-Star Baseball Game on June 2 at Mendocino College in Ukiah.
Jauregui, a Cloverdale resident, and the late Dutch Lyons started the game back in 2009 with the backing of the Cloverdale American Legion. While the format has changed slightly over the years, the concept remains the same — put the spotlight on graduating senior players from the North Central League I, II and III as they take one last curtain call. While Jauregui and Lyons didn’t know if the game would last past its inaugural run a decade ago, it has flourished since, drawing bigger crowds in recent years.
Lake County teams, primarily Clear Lake, Kelseyville and Middletown, provided the bulk of the North roster back in 2009 when it was the North-South All-Star Game. It shifted to a West vs. East alignment in 2012 and has remained that way ever since. Upper Lake’s participation in the game has been hit-and-miss in past years although Jauregui said he expects that to change now that Brian Milhaupt is the new coach for the Cougars. Milhaupt just led Upper Lake to its first winning league campaign since 2000 and Jauregui said Upper Lake will have players in uniform June 2.
Lake County players could make up the entire East roster this season (they almost did last year). The West team will likely include everyone else although Jauregui said he won’t confirm that until rosters are finalized sometime next week. The managers for the West and East teams haven’t been named yet. Jeff Mielke, formerly of Middletown High School, led the East All-Stars to a 8-7 walk-off win a year ago when the winning run scored on a bases-loaded hit batsman with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
There is no admission fee for the nine-inning game although donations are welcome and will be used to keep the All-Star contest alive. A concession stand will be in operation.
The East All-Stars have won each of the last three games.
