Black Sox baseball: Five Sox players named to all-star team

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As a perennial top team in the Cannon Valley League, the Rosemount Black Sox are used to sending several players to the annual all-star game.

Coach Matt Tschida is used to making the trip for the game between the Cannon Valley league and the Classic Cannon Valley league, having been selected each of the last four years.

The newest Black Sox player chosen for the all-star game might have been a surprise to Tschida though. As Rosemount coach, Tschida certainly appreciates what first-year player Dylan Porter brings to his club.

Yet the coach knows Porter’s strength – his defense — isn’t typically associated with all-star status.

“I think he was taken more for his defense than offense, which is something you don’t usually see,” Tschida said. “But that is good. It’s great he can be recognized for his defense.”

Porter made his first trip to the annual all-star game this week in Elko. Five Rosemount players were selected for the event between the Section 5 teams and the Classic Cannon Valley league. In a change from past seasons, Elko, another Section 5 team, was added to the Cannon Valley league team for the game.

Rosemount’s Loren Sjoquist will equal Tschida with his fourth-straight selection. Justin Wallace will make his second appearance in a row. Troy Hoeppner was also selected from the Black Sox, his first selection.

The five players equal league-leading Savage for the most selections to this year’s game, also marking one of the highest totals for Rosemount in the game’s history. The Black Sox sent six players in 2008.

After playing baseball for Rosemount high school, Porter has spent the past few seasons playing junior hockey. In his first season for the Black Sox, Porter has played mainly centerfield.

Tschida has split time between catcher and outfield and is hitting .319 with 11 RBI. Sjoquist is hitting .317 with 10 RBI.

Wallace is 5-2 pitching this season with a 2.37 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings. Troy Hoeppner has split time between second base and the outfield and is now hitting .268, while logging much of his time in the outfield.

Schedule changes

Rosemount had each of its games during the past week canceled.

The Black Sox game at Owatonna was cancelled due to the field being double-booked. The contest against the Apple Valley Millers was cancelled earlier this season when Apple Valley made the decision to not field a team this year.

Monday’s game at Burnsville was postponed due to rain. A make-up date has not been announced.

The matchup could be important to reschedule. The Black Sox entered the week 6-3 in the Cannon Valley League, 2 1/2 games behind Savage (8-0) and a half-game behind Burnsville (7-3).

Rosemount returns home this weekend with games scheduled Saturday and Sunday against Lakeville and Burnsville, respectively.

Tags: black sox, sports, rosemount, proam