Bat Cat Pompey will be in College Home Run Derby

OMAHA, Neb. (June 20, 2017) – Kentucky’s Tristan Pompey has been selected to the roster for the eighth annual College Home Run Derby at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in Omaha, Neb. on Saturday, July 1, Intersport announced today. Pompey is one of six men’s college baseball players selected for the event that will air live on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. ET. He was invited to take part in the College Home Run Derby after being recognized as one of the top power hitters in college baseball.

Pompey, who hails from Toronto, Ontario, led the Southeastern Conference with a .410 batting average in league games, while also tallying the most hits and finishing in the top three in runs, on base percentage and total bases. He now ranks third on UK’s single-season hits list with 96 this year, third in runs with 70 and fifth in walks with 46.

The sophomore outfielder hit .361 with 28 extra-base hits and nine steals in 2017. Nine of his 10 home runs came in SEC play and he slugged .541 on the season. He was named First-Team All-SEC and earned All-America honors from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game/Rawlings, while also being recognized as South All-Region First-Team by the ABCA.

The annual College Home Run Derby showcases some of college baseball’s premier sluggers, all of whom have ranked among the nation’s home run leaders during the 2017 season. Former champions include current New York Yankees slugger and rookie of the year front-runner Aaron Judge who leads Major League Baseball in home runs with 23 (through 65 games played).

A complete list of participants will be released at a later date.

The College Home Run Derby includes three rounds of play: Round 1 featuring all contestants, Round 2 featuring the hitters with the top four scores after Round 1, and Round 3 featuring the top two sluggers after Round 2.

Contestants in each round will have a timed period of four minutes to hit as many home runs as they can, rather than the traditional 10-out method. Once the timed period concludes, contestants will have one final opportunity to hit a home run with the “Bonus Ball.” If successful, two additional home runs will be added to the contestant’s total score. A record 185 home runs were hit during the 2016 competition when this timed format was used for the first time. The previous record was 128 set in 2014.

Individual tickets for the 2017 College Home Run Derby & Omaha World-Herald Fireworks are $8 for children (ages 3-12), $12 for adults, or a ‘Family Four-Pack’ for $36, and go on sale Thursday, May 11, at 10 a.m. CT. Tickets may be purchased in-person from the CenturyLink Center Omaha box office, by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000, or online at Ticketmaster.com. Service fees will apply to those tickets purchased over the phone or online, but not to those purchased in-person. For groups of 20 or more, visit http://www.collegehomerunderby.com.