Henderson plays as All-American

Published 9:54 pm Monday, August 15, 2011

Josh Henderson will play in the Perfect Game All-American Classic at San Diego’s Petco Park Sunday evening. The game brings together 40 of the best high school players in the country and is being televised on CBS Sports Network. Henderson is a rising senior and plays for First Baptist.

The West team of high school All-Americans beat the East 6-2 in the 2011 Perfect Game All-American Classic Sunday night at Petco Park, home stadium of the San Diego Padres.

Suffolk’s Josh Henderson came on as a reserve outfielder and got two at-bats, going 0-for-2, for the East.

The West pitchers combined to hold the East to one hit in the nine-inning game. The West had nine hurlers go one inning each. Overall in the ninth-annual Classic game for 40 of the top rising seniors in the country, 19 pitchers saw action for the two sides. All 19 pitchers hit at least 91 mph with their fastballs in the contest.

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The West jumped out to a 6-0 lead through three innings. The East put one run up in the fourth and eighth frames.

The nationally-televised game in a Major League stadium was the big finale to three days of events for the young prospects in San Diego.

Henderson, a home-schooled student who plays during the high school season with First Baptist, made the East team by his performance among some 300 players at the Perfect Game National Showcase in Fort Myers, Fla. earlier this summer.

Henderson is ranked as the sixth-best outfielder prospect in the nation according to Perfect Game.

The All-American players practiced in front of scouts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday leading up to the game.

On Saturday, the kids visited Rady Children’s Hospital and Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.

There was an awards dinner on Saturday evening with individual awards, such as the Jackie Robinson Player of the Year, won by Lance McCullers of Tampa, Fla. McCullers is the top right-handed pitcher and top infielder in the class of 2012 according to Perfect Game.

Joey Gallo, of Henderson, Nev., hit a 442-foot home run in the Classic and was named MVP of the game.

The Perfect Game All-American Classic, previously titled the Aflac All-American Classic, has played host to 81 first-round draftees in the MLB Draft over its past eight years.