Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008

Blackmon, Durst are NWL all-stars

HERALD STAFF

Outfielder Charlie Blackmon and left-handed pitcher Kenneth Durst of the Tri-City Dust Devils were named to the Northwest League All-Star team, which was announced Thursday.

Blackmon, a second-round draft pick out of Georgia Tech, was named as one of three outfielders after ranking among the NWL top five in batting average (.333), hits (88), total bases (121), doubles (17) and triples (5).

Durst, a 15th-rounder out of West Virginia in 2007, is sixth in the league in ERA (3.34) and seventh in strikeouts (60) in 14 appearances.

Daniel Robertson of Eugene, the NWL leader in batting (.373), was named the league's MVP. Tim Hulett of Spokane was named the Manager of the Year, leading the Indians to the league's best record and the East Division title.