Siena's Paolini to Compete in College Home Run Derby
Siena Sports Information
Loudonville, NY - Rising junior Dan Paolini is one of eight collegiate baseball sluggers who will compete in the inaugural TD AMERITRADE College Home Run Derby at Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium on Wednesday, July 7 at 8:30 p.m. EDT. CBS will air the event nationwide on Sunday, July 11 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. EDT.
The collegiate home run hitting competition will feature eight of the nation's premier power hitters facing off in an elimination-style format. Competitors were selected from a pool of eligible players that have ranked among the nation's home run leaders during the 2010 college baseball season.
Paolini (Stratford, Conn./Bunnell) led the nation this season with .49 home runs per game, launching a MAAC-record 26 in just 53 games played. His 26 home runs, trail only Jordan Ribera of Fresno State who connected on 27 home runs in 63 games played.
"This is a bittersweet year for college baseball as we say good-bye to Rosenblatt Stadium," said Fred Tomczyk, president and chief executive officer of TD AMERITRADE. "As a long-time member of the Omaha corporate community, we want to give Omaha families and college baseball fans one more chance to enjoy the sport from inside this historic landmark and hopefully start a new annual tradition that we can look forward to for years to come at TD AMERITRADE Park Omaha."
Paolini recently became the first Division I All-American in Siena baseball history, being selected to the Collegiate Baseball Second Team. He crushed the program home run mark of 15 set 25 years ago by Steve Borg (1985).
Paolini, last season's MAAC Rookie of the Year, posted a .368 batting average (78-212) during his recently completed second season for the Saints. He also registered a league-best .816 slugging percentage while setting a school-record with 62 runs scored and 64 RBI. He stole 12 bases in just 15 attempts on the season, and made just four errors in 264 chances (.985) at second base.
Paolini ranked among the nation's leaders with four multi-home run games. Paolini had 20 multi-hit games and 14 multi-RBI games this season, including three games in which he drove ion at least five runs.
Paolini is playing for the Chatham A's in the prestigious Cape Cod League this summer.
General admission tickets for the 2010 TD AMERITRADE College Home Run Derby will cost $5 and go on sale Tuesday, June 1. To purchase tickets visit www.ticketmaster.com .
In 2011, the TD AMERITRADE College Home Run Derby will move to TD AMERITRADE Park Omaha, Omaha's new downtown baseball stadium, which is currently under construction. TD AMERITRADE Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: AMTD) reached an agreement last June to secure a 20-year naming rights and services agreement for the park with the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority (MECA).
Intersport, a sports and entertainment marketing company, will produce and market the 2010 College Home Run Derby in conjunction with TD AMERITRADE. More information about the event, including participating players and other notable participants, will be released in the days leading up to the event.
TD AMERITRADE Park Omaha is expected to open in 2011. For more information, please see www.tdameritradeparkomaha.com.