Bender, Oyama Take Home Cape League All-Star Game MVP Honors
Image credit: (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
HARWICH, Mass.—In a game that featured the best players from the best summer collegiate league in the United States, Coastal Carolina’s Derek Bender and UC Irvine’s Joichiro Oyama were named the MVPs of their respective all-star squads.
For the West Division all-stars, Bender went 2-for-3 with an RBI. In the top of the second inning, Bender notched the first hit of the game for either side as he laced a single into center field. With the West leading 3-1 in the fifth inning, Bender showed off his all-fields approach and lined a run-scoring single to the opposite field which scored teammate Caden Bodine.
Bender is fresh off a monster sophomore season in which he hit .341 with 19 home runs and 83 RBIs. He’s established himself as one of the best pure hitters on the Cape. Through 25 games, the rising junior backstop is hitting a league-leading .385 with six doubles, four home runs and a team-leading 21 RBIs. Perhaps most impressively, Bender has swiped a league-leading 15 bases. At 6-foot-1, 210-pounds, Bender is a physical player who has shown the ability to drive the ball with authority into either gap. Fellow MVP Jo Oyama remarked, “As you can see, he is one of the best hitters in the Cape League. I’m trying to be like him.”
Oyama went 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and scored the East squad’s only run of the night. Oyama was the leadoff hitter for the East, and in the bottom of the first inning he got his hands inside a Camron Hill (3-0, 0.96 ERA) slider and sizzled a line drive into right field. Unfortunately for Oyama, it was hit right at Nick McLain, who made the catch.
In the bottom of the fourth, Oyama’s plus speed was on full display as he legged out an infield single, stole second and came around to score on a James Tibbs RBI infield single. While it was a quiet night for the East, Oyama’s fingerprints were all over the box score.
Last summer, Oyama took home co-MVP honors in the West Coast League after hitting .339 with 13 extra-base hits and a whopping 42 stolen bases. This spring, he emerged as one of UC Irvine’s best hitters after hitting .319 with 19 extra-base hits, 44 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. For the Orleans Firebirds this summer, Oyama leads the team in nearly every major offensive category. His .383 average is second in the league to Bender, while he leads the league with six triples.
After the game, Bender was full of praise for Oyama.
“He never gets cheated,” Bender said. “Whether that’s in the field, on the basepaths, or in the box he’ll always play his heart out and I just admire that so much from him.”
Although there are still nine games left in the regular season, Bender and Oyama will come out of this summer having established themselves as household names in the college baseball world.
