Published: July 15, 2008 10:26 am         

All-stars

A celebration of area's best

If you like a good baseball game, you might want to think about heading out to Lewis Cass High School on Wednesday night.

That's the location for the fourth annual Pharos-Tribune/Kokomo Tribune All-Star Baseball Game.

Players are chosen for the game based on the post-season honor teams selected by the two newspapers.

The Pharos-Tribune's Loganland All-Stars will be made up of athletes from Carroll, Caston, Lewis Cass, Logansport, Pioneer and Winamac high schools.

For many of these athletes, this will be their final game in a high school uniform.

For Northwestern senior Eric Metz, the game will be a celebration of life. Metz, a two-sport athlete with the Tigers, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

He got off to a fast start in the 2007-08 football season before he was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. He underwent treatment at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, and his cancer has been in remission for eight months.

Metz, who played on the Northwestern team that made it to the 2005 Class 2A state baseball finals, was able to rejoin the team in late April.

For future all-stars, the two newspapers will hold a clinic led by Lewis Cass Kings coach Greg Marschand. The clinic, open to boys and girls ages 8-12, will focus on fundamentals, including throwing, fielding and hitting. Participants will receive a free ticket to the game.

The Loganland All-Stars are still looking for their first win in the series. The Howard County All-Stars hold a 2-0-1 record.

For the second straight year, fans will also have the opportunity to vote online for an MVP. A poll will be posted after the game at pharostribune.com, and voting will be open until 7 p.m. Thursday. The winner will be announced on Friday.

The game, of course, is about more than who wins and who loses. It’s a celebration of some of the best athletes Loganland and Howard County have to offer.

For baseball fans, this is an event not to miss.