NEWS

LYNN, Mass. -- Danbury Westerners two-way player Anthony Steele (Penn State) was crowned the 2023 NECBL Home Run Derby champion on Sunday afternoon after hitting 14 total home runs across two rounds of play. Steele hit nine bombs in the final round, just enough to edge Sanford’s Jeremiah Jenkins (Maine). Jenkins was the runner-up with eight home runs in the final round and 13 total on the day.

 

Eleven players competed in the Home Run Derby, with all of the sluggers taking their licks in Round 1, where they had three minutes to hit as many home runs as possible without timeouts or stoppages. Round 1 finished with Michael Zarrillo (Lafayette) earning the top spot with seven home runs, and a three-way tie for second place between Jenkins, Steele and Devin Taylor (Indiana) with five home runs each. In the Championship Round, all four hitters were allotted three more minutes to hit with a thirty-second timeout available for use at any time. Home run totals reset for the championship round. 

 

Championship Round

 

Anthony Steele (Danbury, P/1B, Penn State): Steele finished with nine home runs in the final round, edging out Jeremiah Jenkins to finish in first place. He hit two home runs before calling his thirty-second timeout. Following the break, Steele caught fire with seven homers in the final minute of play. His longest home run went 401 feet and his hardest exit velocity was 106 MPH. 

 

Devin Taylor (Keene, OF/1B, Indiana): Taylor finished with four home runs in the final round. After struggling to get on the board early, he called his thirty-second timeout still looking for his first home run. Following the break he hit two quick home runs and rebounded nicely with four total, including a 389 foot shot. 

 

Jeremiah Jenkins (Sanford, 1B/OF, Maine): Jenkins finished with eight home runs in the final round, bringing his total to 13 on the day. Jenkins hit two home runs before calling his thirty-second timeout as fatigue began to set in. Following the timeout he found his groove with six home runs, coming up just short of tying Steele’s tally at the buzzer. Jenkins hit two home runs better than 400 feet and hit a max exit velocity of 103 MPH.

 

Michael Zarrillo (Valley, INF, Lafayette): Zarrillo finished with one home run in the final round, bringing his total to eight on the day. The switch-hitter called his thirty-second timeout still looking for his first home run. Following the timeout, Zarrillo switched to the right side of the plate looking to gain momentum, but could only muster a single home run in the final round, a blast which traveled 371 feet and came off the bat at 101 MPH.

 

Round 1

 

Daniel Hussey (Bristol, OF, CCSU): Hussey hit one home run in the first round, a 412 foot blast with a 101 MPH exit velocity. The left-handed hitter leads the Blues with three home runs on the season, with his most recent coming on June 30, when he knocked a grand slam in a 9-3 win over the Upper Valley Nighthawks. In 26 games this year for the Blues, Hussey has 11 runs scored, 14 RBIs, and seven stolen bases. 

 

Anthony Steele (Danbury, P/1B, Penn State): Steele finished with five home runs despite breaking his bat on the first pitch and losing 15-20 seconds to retrieve a new bat. His final home run of the first round was a 420-foot blast (104 mph off the bat) in the final seconds, good for the longest home run of the day. The two-way player has three home runs on the season for the Westerners, one of which was a three-run blast on July 1 in a 9-7 win over the SteepleCats. Steele also sports a 1.08 ERA and has earned five saves across 17.2 innings pitched for the Westerners, enough to earn an all-star selection as a pitcher for the West Division.

 

Devin Taylor (Keene, OF/1B, Indiana): Taylor advanced to the Championship Round after hitting five home runs in the first round, tying Jeremiah Jenkins and Anthony Steele for second place. Taylor leads the SwampBats with seven home runs on the season. His latest homer came on July 22 as part of a three-hit, five-RBI performance against the Upper Valley Nighthawks. Taylor is currently hitting .311 along with 14 runs scored and 26 RBIs across 28 games on the season.

 

Billy Butler (Newport, OF, Rhode Island): Butler finished with two home runs in Round 1. The right-handed hitter has two home runs on the season, contributing to a high-powered Gulls offense this season. Butler currently has two home runs, 13 RBIs, and 11 runs scored overall.

 

Samuel Tackett (North Adams, OF, Virginia Tech): Tackett finished with three home runs in Round 1. The right-handed hitter is currently second in the league with eight home runs this season. Tackett’s last home run came on July 8 at Vermont, as part of a two-RBI game. Tackett is also among the league-leaders in walks (27), RBIs (24), runs scored (27), and doubles (8). 

 

Christian Ficca (Ocean State, OF/1B, Georgetown): Ficca hit his first and only home run of the first round on the final pitch he faced, a 345 foot homer. The left-handed hitter has hit two home runs this season along with 12 walks, eight RBIs, nine runs scored and an impressive .303 batting average, which is good for fourteenth in the league.

 

Jeremiah Jenkins (Sanford, 1B/OF, Maine): Jenkins advanced to the Championship Round after hitting five home runs to tie Anthony Steele and Devin Taylor for second place in the first round. The left-handed hitter currently has four home runs on the season, his last coming on July 15 when he launched a three-run shot to lead Mainers to a 10-0 win over the Keene SwampBats. Jenkins has collected 14 RBI along with eight runs scored and 16 hits in 28 games for Sanford.

 

Ryan Cesarini (Upper Valley, OF, St. Joseph’s): Cesarini recorded four home runs in Round 1 to come up just short of second place. His longest home run of the day was a 375-foot blast which was 98 mph off the bat. The left-handed hitter does not have a home run this season for the Nighthawks, but he still has produced in a big way. Cesarini is tied for sixth in the league in total hits (33), seventh in runs scored (21) along with 14 walks and a .273 batting average.

 

Michael Zarrillo (Valley, INF, Lafayette): Zarrillo advanced to the Championship Round with seven home runs to break a three-way tie for first place in Round 1. Zarrillo’s homers included a 401 foot bomb which maxed out his exit velocity at 104 MPH. The switch-hitter has two home runs, 22 walks and 15 runs scored on the season. Zarrillo’s last home run came on July 15 at Danbury, launching a solo shot as part of a multi-hit performance. 

 

Nathan Waugh (Vermont, C, Cornell): Waugh finished with four home runs including two in the final 10 seconds in the first round. His longest home run of the day was a 399-foot blast, 100 mph off the bat. The right-handed hitter is currently batting .209 with two home runs, ten RBIs, six doubles, and 12 runs scored. 

 

Carsten Sabathia (Martha’s Vineyard, 1B/OF, Georgia Tech): Sabathia hit three home runs in the first round. The right-handed hitter has six home runs on the season in 24 games, hitting .229 in that span. His last homer came on July 20 in an 8-9 loss against the league-leading Newport Gulls. 

 

Jackson Hornung (North Shore, C, Kansas State): Hornung was unable to participate in the 2023 Home Run Derby after being selected No. 484 in the 16th round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He finished his time with the Navigators with two home runs, six RBIs, and five walks across 13 games. His last home run came on July 8 in a multi-hit effort against the Danbury Westerners.

     

The 2023 NECBL All-Star Game on July 23 features the best players and top talent in the league and provides a night full of excitement and entertainment. The 2023 All-Stars looked to showcase their talents with the hopes of continuing their baseball career beyond college and the NECBL, with 30-40 total scouts representing every Major League Baseball (MLB) team in attendance.