"I was just excited I got to make it that far."
8-year-old Scott Co. Youth Baseball player and Cal Ripken All-Star Andrew Elam III received national attention for winning the Pitch, Hit & Run competition at Great American Ballpark. pic.twitter.com/Knj2eTzhH8
— Eli Gehn (@EliGehnLEX18) June 28, 2019
Lexington (LEX 18) — It’s been quite a memorable summer for Scott Co. Cal Ripken player Andrew Elam III.
In addition to playing with his friends on the Cal Ripken All-Star team, he’s participated in numerous Pitch, Hit & Run competitions, an event sponsored by Major League Baseball where kids go head-to-head on the field against kids their own age.
“We actually signed him up just to see what it was all about,” said Andrew’s dad, Andrew. “It was the first time ever doing it. He did really well in the first one, didn’t really expect anything after that, so we just went to Boone County, he competed and did really well in that one. Thought it would be the end of that one because only one out of six sectionals gets picked out of three people is pretty tough.”
Well Drew was fortunate enough to be chosen. The next step was a dream come true for a lot of kids.
“I got to compete against all of the other kids, and I got to go on a major league field,” when I asked him how excited he was.
The major league field, by the way, happened to be the home of his favorite team.
The Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark.
“No, this is the second year for him playing baseball so we were pretty proud,” said Drew’s mom, Kandace Young, when asked if they ever thought about making it that far when they signed Drew up to participate.
Well Drew’s journey wasn’t done there. He would go on to win the Pitch, Hit & Run competition at Great American Ballpark, making him eligible to be one of three players chosen to compete at Progressive Field in Cleveland during the all-star break next week.
However, Drew wouldn’t be chosen as one of the three participants.
But it’s still a summer he will never forget.
“I took it good,” said Drew. “I was just excited I got to make it that far.”
“In a nutshell, that’s what every kid dreams of,” said Chris Spurlock, Drew’s Baseball Coach. “He got to experience it first hand as an 8 year old so hopefully he’ll progress and get there as a 21-22 year old one day and be hitting homers over the wall at Great American Ballpark.”
Drew was the first Scott Co. Youth Baseball player to ever make it to a professional baseball field through the Pitch, Hit & Run competition.
