HOOVER, Ala. – A bright start to the Southern League All-Star Festivities on Sunday at Rickwood Field in Birmingham as BayBears third baseman Ricardo Sosa was crowned champion of the 2009 Southern League Home Run Derby in a show-stealing spectacular where Sosa charged out from the gate and defeated seven other participants including teammate Sean Coughlin.

Sosa’s home-run hitting frenzy caps off a whirlwind first half for the slugger as he leads the BayBears in home runs with 10, reaching double digits on Saturday night in West Tenn.

Sosa will be the starting third baseman for the South Division All-Stars as they take the field against the North Division on Monday night at 7:05 inside Regions Park. Among Sosa’s BayBear teammates, Coughlin will be the starting first baseman while Pedro Ciriaco gets the nod at short and Cyle Hankerd will be the DH.

Also suiting up for the BayBears are outfielder Chris Rahl and pitchers Barry Enright, Matt Torra and Jarrod Parker. Enright and Torra are expected to see some time on the mound while Parker is planning to attend after taking the hill at Busch Stadium on Sunday in the MLB All-Star Futures Game. Parker was in line for the victory on Sunday until the U.S. team blew a 5-3 lead in the final inning. Fellow BayBear Leyson Septimo also saw action on the mound in the rain-shortened Futures Game.

The 2009 Southern League All-Star Game can be heard on milb.com at 7 p.m.with the play-by-play brought to you by Birmingham’s Curt Bloom and Huntsville’s Brett Pollock.

The Mobile BayBears have sent nearly 100 players to the major leagues. They return to action on Wednesday, July 15 to take on the Birmingham Barons at 7:05 p.m. For Hank Aaron Stadium tickets, call (251) 479-BEAR or log on to www.mobilebaybears.com.

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