Six Wild Things set for Frontier League All-Star Game

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, July 15, 2014 | 3:02 PM

The Frontier League announced that the first-place Washington Wild Things will have outfielders Stewart Ijames, CJ Beatty and Daniel Poma alongside infielder Carter Bell and pitchers Shawn Blackwell and Jonathan Kountis represent the team at this years’ Frontier League All-Star Game at GCS Ballpark, the home of the Gateway Grizzlies, in Sauget, IL on Wednesday, July 16^th.  

This is the second straight season that Ijames and Beatty will represent Washington at an All-Star Game. Sitting atop the Eastern Division with a 28-17 win-loss record, Ijames is in the midst of a stellar sophomore season. The native of Owensboro, KY is highlighted amongst almost every offensive statistical leaderboard. For the player who had only tallied 16 home runs in his rookie season (in 2013), Ijames already has powered 13 and is second in the league with 41 RBI.

Beatty, who has been a mainstay in left field for the Things this season, will also be traveling to his second Frontier League All-Star Game. Beatty remains three home runs behind his teammate with 10 blasts. Currently, he is batting .272 with eight doubles and 34 RBI.

Washington rookies Carter Bell and Daniel Poma are also producing outstanding numbers for the squad. Bell, a Victoria, British Columbia native has rocketed out of the gate for Washington and currently stands as one of the league leaders in both batting average and on base percentage. Thus far, in his first year in professional baseball, Bell is batting .278 with 12 stolen bases and 10 RBI. He also notched his first home run for the Things this past Sunday, an inside-the-park home run. Meanwhile, Poma, an early off-season signing by Washington, has excelled roaming the outfield and offensively is also amongst the leaderboards in batting average, .331 and has swiped 18 bases.  

On the hill, Shawn Blackwell, in his second stint with Washington, is a perfect 5-0 with a 2.58 ERA and has collected 31 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings pitched. In his last outing on Thursday, July 3^rd, the Texas Rangers draftee tossed a complete-game nine-strikeout gem, carrying the Wild Things to a 7-1 victory. Reliever Jonathan Kountis, who was named the Things’ closer in Spring Training, will appear in his second All-Star Game. The former Crusher represented Lake Erie in the 2012 contest in Normal, IL. So far this season, Kountis is in the league lead with 16 saves and has surrounded just two earned runs all season.