‘Amazing’ experience for players at Native American All-Star Showcase
ATLANTA — The final day of the Braves’ third annual Native American All-Star Showcase — a weekend workout, home run derby and all-star game at Truist Park featuring the top 50 Native American high school baseball players — pitted Team Red against Team Blue on Sunday, and Team Blue earned a 7-2 win.
The 50 players, with representation from 20-plus tribes and 16 states and Canada, were split into two 25-man squads and they played a nine-inning contest in which Team Blue’s pitching was dominant.
Team Blue pitchers allowed two runs on five hits and combined for 12 strikeouts.
- Native American All-Star Baseball Showcase a hit at Truist Park
Team Blue scored in five of the eight innings it came to the plate but a run in the first and three in the second was all Team Blue needed. Nathaniel Carpenter (Broome High School, South Carolina) got the scoring going with a two-out RBI single in the top of the first.
Team Blue added three runs on three hits in the bottom of the second. Talan Rush (Collinsville High School, Oklahoma) tallied an RBI double and Ty Freeman’s (Greenwood High School, Arkansas) RBI single gave Team Blue a 3-0 lead and that hit proved to be the game-winner.
‘It’s amazing, honestly’
Not many high school baseball players get the opportunity to compete in a Major League stadium. The 50 student-athletes spent their entire weekend on the grounds of Truist Park.
Saturday featured a pro-style workout and home run derby that allowed the players to get a feel for the size and scope of an MLB park before playing in a game on Sunday.
Jawan Taylor, who played for Team Blue on Sunday, is out of Arizona’s Alchesay High School and is affiliated with the White Mountain Apache Tribe. Taylor reflected on the scene at Truist Park prior to Sunday’s game.
“It’s amazing, honestly,” Taylor said. “Just to be here inside the stadium is cool. You don’t get this chance often and it’s just a surreal moment to be here.”
Taylor plays third base, first base and he pitches. Taylor took the mound on Sunday and delivered a scoreless top of the sixth.
Getting to Truist Park was a journey in more ways than one for Taylor. After applying for the showcase and getting accepted, Taylor and his parents had to fundraise.
“It took a lot of effort,” Taylor said. “[My parents] put a lot of work into it [with] a lot of fundraising [and] donations we got from my tribe, sponsorships and everything. We made the 23-hour drive [from Arizona] out here. We did it in two days. We got here though.”
Jordan Davis, a Neshoba Central High School (Mississippi) graduate who played center field for Team Red, just wanted to get a hit during Sunday’s contest.
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