Miners outfielder wins ABL Home Run Derby

PALMER — With Joe Perez tabbed to pitch to the Mat-Su Miners participating in the Alaska Baseball League Home Run Derby Sunday afternoon, outfielder Cam Montgomery told the Miners assistant exactly where he’d like to see the balls thrown. Perez hit the spot, and Montgomery took care of the rest.

Montgomery belted 33 total home runs, and 13 in the final round, to win the annual derby at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

“He asked me if I wanted to run the ball inside, but I just said to kept it out over the plate like in batting practice,” Montgomery said after the derby. “I did my part by pulling the ball.”

And Montgomery pulled off the victory, beating Isaac Feldstein of the Anchorage Glacier Pilots in the final round to become the third player in team history to win the ABL’s annual derby. Adam Martin won the league’s inaugural derby in 2011, and Gio Brusa was crowned ABL home run king in 2013.

Montgomery said he felt he started slow during the final round. With two dingers under his belt, he took a break, before finding his rhythm.

“I started to get into a grove and caught fire,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery worked through three timed rounds en route to the title. Hitters were allowed one 30-second timeout each round.

“I tried not to overswing today. The key was staying loose and squaring up the ball,” Montgomery said.

Overall, Montgomery said he felt calm heading into the event, which also featured Miners teammate Jake Scudder.

“I wasn’t really nervous beforehand, I knew I was going to be able to hit some balls out. I just needed to stay focused,” Montgomery said.

Scudder finished with two home runs in the derby.

Montgomery opened with 13 home runs in the first round of the event. He beat Ethan Wiskur of the Chugiak Chinooks in the semifinals to advance to the finals.

Montgomery, a South Florida product and native of Windermere, Florida, has appeared in 23 games for the Miners this summer. As a freshman at South Florida, the pre-business major appeared in 28 games, and made 17 starts. He hit two home runs during his first season with the Bulls.

Montgomery has 14 hits and five runs scored for the Miners this summer.

Another Miner was honored later in the day. Mat-Su’s Jacob Hughey was named most valuable player of the ABL All-Star Game after leading Team Gold to a 6-5 win over Team Blue. Hughey smacked a home run in the win, and drove in the game-winning run.