Amherst resident selected to National Baseball Showcase

A Canisius High School baseball player and Amherst resident has been selected to play in the Ringor Showcase Series National Game in Birmingham, Alabama on Wednesday, Aug. 15.

Benjamin Dolpp was selected from several hundred infielders from across the country that was evaluated by professional scouts.

Dolpp was selected from the Beast of the East Showcase held July 4 in Wheeling, W.Va. The showcase was one of 22 showcases held across the United States in search of top young baseball talent. The Ringor Showcase Series, presented by National Scouting Report, provided players with an opportunity to be seen by college coaches and professional scouts while receiving an evaluation of their talent.

Described as an athletic job application or athletic college entrance exam, the showcase gives players a chance to demonstrate their talents while seeing how they compare to other players their age. It also gives the college coaches a chance to stay ahead in the recruiting game by seeing young players. At each of the showcases across the country professional scouts assessed each player's skills.

Dolpp earned all-Catholic honors for Western New York as a junior. For the past three years, scouts have rated Dolpp as one of the top infielders at the Beast of the East Showcase where scouts saw nearly 400 baseball players in one day. Dolpp earned his trip to Birmingham with his smooth fielding and quickness. He threw 83 miles per hour across the infield and ran a 7.10 second 60-yard dash.

The game will be played at Rickwood Stadium in Birmingham, the oldest baseball stadium in the United States. Modeled after Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pa., Rickwood Field has hosted many of the greatest baseball players to ever play the game. It is the field where Birmingham native Willie Mays, as a 16-year-old high school junior, played his first professional game the starting center fielder for the 1948 championship Black Barons of the Negro Leagues.