MILLVILLE — The popular Phillies home run derby will be making its annual visit to the Holly City on Thursday, May 18 at the Rob Shannon’s Sports Complex, Cedar Street. The home run derby is being sponsored by the Philadelphia Phillies and the Millville Recreation Department. The starting time is set for 5 p.m. The contest is open for all boys and girls, ages 7-12. Official entry forms will be available at the field the day of the contest.
The derby uses an automatic pitching machine to throw 10 good pitches to each contestant. Points are scored for all fair balls hit, distance hits and home runs. Any ball that hits fair is worth one point, distance hits are worth two points and home runs count for five points. The distance hits and home runs are well within the range of most hitters. For example, in the “B” division (ages 9-10) the distance hit is 100 feet, and a home run is 125 feet. This is considerably shorter than normal little league fencing. The speed of the pitch as well as, the scoring distances changes with each age division.
The top three winners will be invited to the regional final to be held later in the summer. From regionals, winners will compete for the championship to be held at Citizens Bank Ballpark prior to a Phillies game. Other prizes are Phillies tickets and baseball related items. For more information call 825-7000 ext. 7394.
