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Baseball All-Stars led by Millville's Mike Trout
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Mike Trout had a season unlike any other local high school baseball player.
The Millville High School senior is The Press Baseball Player of the Year.
Trout hit a New Jersey-record 18 home runs. He also became the first local player selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. The Los Angeles Angels selected him with the 25th pick.
"It's been a fun four years," Trout said after his final Millville game. "I wish it could go longer."
Trout has yet to sign a contract. If he does not sign by Aug. 17, he will attend East Carolina University on a scholarship. But all comments he has made indicate he wants to play professionally.
Trout wowed scouts and fans with his combination of speed and power.
Trout finished his career with 31 home runs and 142 hits.
"I hope someone comes along and breaks my records," he said.
While that might happen, it will be hard for anybody to ever top Trout's effect on Millville sports.
Trout showed just what Millville baseball meant to him in his last home game. It was essentially a meaningless contest against Oakcrest. Nothing was on the line.
That morning Trout worked out for scouts at Yankee Stadium. He could have easily skipped the afternoon game.
No one would have said a word, but Trout would have none of that.
"It was the last game of my high school career, and it meant the world to me to be here," he said. "I wasn't going to let my teammates down."
Coach of the Year
Holy Spirit has improved each of its five seasons under coach Keith Gorman.
This is the first season Spirit won 20 games.
The Spartans finished 20-3-1 and won the Cape-Atlantic League National Conference.
They lost in the South Jersey Non-Public A semifinals to eventual state champion Christian Brothers Academy.
Gorman is The Press Coach of the Year.
"We've been able to improve because of hard work," Gorman said. "That's what we preach to our kids. That's what they give us every day and that's what the coaches give back to them."
Holy Spirit returns most of its team next season.
"With the loss to CBA, the kids saw where we need to be," Gorman said.
Team of the Year
It was anything but an ordinary season for Millville.
Professional scouts followed Trout's every move.
"He's a normal high school kid," Millville coach Roy Hallenbeck said. "He doesn't let any of the other stuff affect him. But when you go outside of the locker room, there's 17 people there to watch batting practice. You're reminded that things are a bit different."
Millville survived the craziness and won The Press' Elite 11 trophy. The Thunderbolts finished No. 10 in the final ranking, the highest of any local team.
Millville had a pair of disappointing defeats. It lost to Cherokee in the first round off the Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic and to Toms River East in the first round of the state Group IV tournament.
But the Thunderbolts still won a school-record 22 games and finished undefeated in the CAL American Conference.
E-mail Michael McGarry:
Posted in Sports, Highschool, Breaking_news on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 12:45 am Updated: 7:48 pm.
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