Cox named West MVP at Cape All-Star game
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Zack Cox connected for two hits in two plate appearances and drove in two runs to lead the West All-Stars to a 3-0, rain shortened, victory in the Cape Cod League All-Star Game on Thursday night and in the process was named the West All-Star’s Most Valuable Player.
Cox got a late start to his summer season because of Arkansas’ run at the College World Series, but that didn’t stop the slugging third baseman from earning the starting third baseman’s spot on the West roster due in large part to his impressive .364 batting average. Cox did not disappoint his coach or teammates when he tripled off the center-field wall at Boston’s historic Fenway Park to drive in the game’s first run in the first inning. Cox would step to the plate again in the second and line a single to left field to drive in a second run and make it a 3-0 lead for the West. Arkansas’ third baseman also scored in the first inning on a ground out to account for all three runs scored in the contest which lasted just 4 ½ innings due to rain.
One of the best hitters in the prestigious Cape Cod League, Cox is excelling in the premier wood bat collegiate summer league. His average is among the league leaders, although he is still shy of the required plate appearances to qualify for the honor and his 24 hits lead the Cotuit Kettleers roster despite playing in just over half the games of some of his teammates.
In conjunction with the All-Star Game, the Cape Cod League also held a fan favorite Home Run Derby which featured another Arkansas standout, Brett Eibner. In the opening round of the derby, Eibner may have hit just one home run, but it was one of note as he crushed the offering over the “Green Monster” in left field and not just over the fence, but out of the ball park entirely as it cleared the seats and landed on Lansdowne Street beyond the most famous wall in sports.
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