'You're surrounded by great athletes'

MASON– On Tuesday, the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League hosted its annual All-Star festivities from Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio. Prasco Park, home of the Cincinnati Spikes, an amateur baseball team, is a state-of-the-art facility with a major league feel. With free admission and concessions, the GLSCL All-Star game was an enjoyable event for players and spectators alike. With an 18-19 record, the Sluggers had 12 players selected to the all-star game, including three starters. Outfielder Harrison Engskov, third in the GLSCL in batting average, started alongside fellow outfielder Tanner Powell and left-handed pitcher Braxton Betancourt. Other position player all-stars from Flag City included third baseman Caleb Smith, shortstop Matt Gardner, and outfielders Chris Franks and Will Lafferty. Pitchers Leo McEnulty, Aidan Murphy, and Bryce Stenzel were selected as well. Two Sluggers were selected as 'prospects,' who were showcased to MLB scouts prior to the All-Star game. Catcher Drew Stechschulte, a Findlay native attending Ohio Northern University but currently in the portal, was selected alongside side-arm pitcher Talmadge "TK" Davis from Belzoni, Mississippi. "The all-star experience has been great," Davis said. "It's a clean park with amazing fields. The mounds feel the best out of all the fields I've ever been to.""I kinda feel special," Davis said with a laugh. "I really wasn't expecting to make it this far after my first year in college being bad, but I've grown so much over the summer. Getting the chance to do this is just amazing."As the Sluggers season nears its conclusion, Davis reflected on his time in Flag City."So, once I got picked up by the Sluggers, I saw they had Geoff Freeborn as a coach, and I immediately wanted to go there," Davis said. "They've all taught me so much. It's been a fun experience staying here, they had everything set up for me. Playing on a team and my teammates teaching me and helping me learn how to pitch better, it's all just been a great experience. I'm happy to be here."Flag City's Engskov hit an RBI-single in the second inning to help the North Team notch its lone run of the evening. Engskov also made a play to get the Southern Ohio Copperheads' Ronnie Rowley out at the plate to preserve the game's 1-1 tie in the fifth inning. Stenzel ended the night for the Sluggers, pitching the 10th and final inning as things ended in a 1-1 stalemate. "It's been a really enjoyable experience watching all the best players in the league," Sluggers assistant Cael Magill said. "You're surrounded by great athletes, and you just to watch them all go out and compete. It's really cool to be surrounded by all of these scouts as well, it just shows that there's an opportunity for these guys to play after college.""They've taken their process really serious. A lot of times guys go to summer ball and kind of take the summer off or are just kind of lackadaisical when they're here. But these guys trust our process, they show up early to work, show up early to lift, they get their work in on their own. This means something to them, and they're not taking this opportunity lightly here at Prasco. They're all blessed to be here, humble, and really excited."