Four Toros get ready for All-Star game at Hi Corbett

Toros shortstop Ryan Priddy’s girlfriend and two aunts feel so strongly about him that they are all flying in to Tucson from Colorado to watch him play in Wednesday's GBL vs. Northern League All-Star Game at Hi Corbett Field.

“It’ll be really nice to have them in the stands to see me play,” he said.

Priddy is one of four Toros to be selected for the independent leagues' All-Star Game this year.

Joining him are left fielder Lino Garcia, relief pitcher Andrew Snowdon and closing pitcher Emiliano Fruto.

“(Going to the All-Star Game) is something that all of us want to do and to be recognized as one of the better players in the league is awesome,” Priddy said. “To be selected as an All-Star really boosts your confidence, because you know other people believe in you. And in way, that helps you play better and want to be a better player.”

Priddy is batting .309 on the year with 20 RBIs and leads the team with six home runs, but he believes he was selected for his fielding ability.

“My defense is the reason that I’m still playing this game,” he said. “I’ve been really strong on defense this season, and maybe some managers saw that and voted me in. I’m just lucky enough to have the offensive side too this year.”

His teammate Garcia ranks third in the GBL in batting average at .360. He leads the Toros in walks and is second on the team in RBIs with 25.

“Getting to the All-Star Game is something that you work so hard for from the first day of the season,” Garcia, a three-time GBL All-Star, said. “And to be appreciated like that is amazing. It’s a great reward for all of the time and work that you put into what you do. It’s exciting, and I’m so happy about it.”

This is the first year that Tucson will be hosting the All-Star Game. In 2009, it was held in St. George, Utah.

“It’ll be great to be in front of our own crowd,” Garcia said. “There’s going to be a lot of new eyes on Tucson, and people that have never been here out in there.” 

“It’ll also be good because it’s a chance for scouts to come out and recruit. It’s my goal to get back to the majors.”

Northern League

The GBL’s opponents will be the Northern League, an independent baseball league that operates in the northern U.S.

Much like the GBL, the Northern League draws players that were once in minor or major baseball and hope to get back again.

The GBL's opponents are made up of teams that play in the Midwest, including  the Kansas City T-Bones, Joliet (Ill.) JackHammers, and Winnipeg Goldeneyes.

The Northern League will be led by a strong pitching staff that includes Fargo-Moorhead pitcher Casey Hoorelbeke and T-Bones pitcher Andrew Cruse.

The two are tied for the top of the league with a 2.04 ERA and Cruse is second in the league with six wins.

The GBL will boast a powerful lineup that includes Chico Outlaws catcher Mike Rose, who has a .991 fielding percentage. Also part of the lineup will be Edmonton Capital's first baseman Cliff Brumbaugh, who leads the GBL with 13 homeruns.

Calgary's outfielder Drew Miller was named to his fourth straight All-Star game, which will be played on Wednesday at Hi Corbett Field.

“I have some friends in the Northern League, so it’ll be nice to see them again and play against them,” Priddy said.

In terms of their approach, all four All-Star Toros said that they will keep the same strategy come Wednesday.

“Even though I’m going against the best hitters in the league, I still plan on throwing the same way I always do,” Snowdon said.

Toros split doubleheader

The Tucson Toros will be returning home after splitting a doubleheader in Orange County on Saturday.

In splitting the twinbill, 2-1 and 9-5, the first half of Tucson’s season ended with a record of 20-25 and finished seven games behind the expansion Maui No Koa Ikaika, who won the South Division for the first half.

The GBL is divided into two divisions and the winner of each division in the first and second halves will face off in the first round of the playoffs. If a team wins both halves, the next best team over the entire season will face them in the playoffs.

In the opening game against the Flyers, the Toros were only able to muster three hits, two that came off the bat of one of the four Tucson All-Star representatives, Lino Garcia.

Garcia finished the first half ranked eighth in the Golden Baseball League with a .357 average.

In the second, a 7-inning affair, Tucson’s bats did what they do best and finished with 14 hits in the game.

Luis Apodaca, who led the team with three hits and driving in two. Both Wally Backman Jr. and Jose Valdez both finished with two hits. Valdez hit his league leading seventh triple of the season.

Tucson scored four in the fourth and five in the sixth.