DURHAM, N.C. -- There are still three more Home Run Derby X events to go until the finals in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Sept. 19-20, but the Nationals have already emerged as an early favorite.
Mr. National himself, Ryan Zimmerman, and AUSL All-Star Cup slugger Ali Newland had already booked a place in the final thanks to some help from Ian Desmond with a victory at the Atlanta event held during the All-Star break. So, on Saturday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Zimmerman and Newland's job was to help their new teammate -- NC State slugger Chris McHugh -- lock up his own Wild Card spot at SLC.
"When any of us do anything, whether it's baseball, cards, whatever, we want to win," Zimmerman said before the event began. "So, if we can book a spot for Chris out to Salt Lake? Yeah, we're gonna try and win."
They shouldn't have worried: Zimmerman and Newland resumed crushing dingers -- just as they did in Atlanta -- while McHugh went absolutely supernova. In the semifinal matchup to begin the evening, McHugh set a single-round HRDX record with an astonishing 37 points to defeat the Manny Ramirez-led Red Sox in the first round.
"Honestly, that was the best I've ever felt swinging the bat," McHugh said after the event, holding the special orange MVP Award bat above his head.
Facing Braves legend Andruw Jones, two-time USA Baseball Sportswoman of the Year Alex Hugo, and UNC rival Gavin Gallaher in the final, McHugh kept up his hot hitting. Despite spending over 10 hours in the car driving back to North Carolina after a summer spent with the Wareham Gateman of the Cape Cod League earlier in the week, McHugh still had plenty in the tank. He put up another 30 points to help the Nationals run away with the contest.
That wasn't all: When Newland was gassed during her second round, it wasn't the MLB veteran she tagged in for the last minute -- it was the college student.
"When you have two guys like Zim and McHugh, you're just trying to get them as many swings as you can," Newland said. "Definitely, in that second round, we were strategizing in the outfield, like once I hit the one and a half minute mark, whoever feels hot, you guys gotta go, because they were swinging so well."
Zimmerman said there was no question about who was going to come in.
"Buddy, you're 20-something and I'm 40," Zimmerman told McHugh. "You're gonna go ahead and get tagged in."
Winning in Durham isn't new for McHugh. Last summer he helped Ramirez emerge victorious -- putting up a team-best 59 points across two rounds. Ramirez, who will now need to win at the HRDX: Des Moines, Iowa, event on Aug. 30 to reach Salt Lake City, was succinct afterward:
"I hate him," Ramirez joked about McHugh. "He should have been on my team!" (While Ramirez may have little love left for his former teammate, he has plenty for the rest of the competitors: Before the event began, he had all the participants sign his jersey. "I just told them to sign my jersey so I could keep it for the memories," Ramirez said.)
McHugh could upset his new Nationals teammates, too. Since he'll be competing as a Wild Card, he could end up facing Zimmerman and Newland in Salt Lake City.
"I'll ride or die with [Ian Desmond], he's my boy," Zimmerman said. "But that was an impressive showing right there."
Before Newland rejoins her teammates in Salt Lake City, she'll first head to the AUSL All-Star Cup next week. She'll be bringing the HRDX trophy with her, especially after she had lost it following the event in Atlanta.
"This one," she said while clutching the golden trophy, "will not be leaving my sight for the rest of my life, I think."
Here are the results for the two semifinal contests:
Semifinal 1:
Braves 53 - Cubs 52
While the Cubs' Jake Arrieta did all he could to lead his team to victory -- smashing home runs and making leaping grabs in the outfield ("Just trying not to get hurt," Arrieta said) -- it was local UNC slugger Gavin Gallaher who stole the show. With his father, Sean Gallaher, pitching to him, Gallaher smashed eight home runs in the first round, including the walk-off shot with a little over 30 seconds left in the round, to send the Braves to the finals.
"He's been throwing me BP for I can't even tell you how many years now," Gallaher said. "To have him be up there, that was really special."
Semifinal 2:
Nationals 92 - Red Sox 67
While McHugh helped fuel the Nationals to a HRDX-record 92 points, Zimmerman was no slouch himself. The Nats legend put up 26 points in his round to help the team race out to an uncatchable lead. That was all part of Mr. National's plan.
"I'm just a leadoff guy," Zimmerman said. "I just try and put up a good round -- my goal is 20 -- and then let them do their thing."
Duke rising senior Tyler Albright did his best to bring the Red Sox back, scoring 27 points in his round, but it wasn't enough to catch the Nationals.