Prep baseball all-star game today

Some of the nation’s top high school senior baseball prospects will play today in the Aflac All-American game beginning at noon at Dodger Stadium.

The contest pits East vs. West and features several Southern California players on the West squad, including Matt Davidson, who hit .329 with 22 runs batted in for Yucaipa last spring; Capistrano Valley’s Tyler Matzek; Cypress’ David Nick, who hit .453 with 38 RBIs; and Millikan’s Jonathan Singleton, who hit .385 with four home runs.

“Basically you just want to try to have fun,” Singleton said, “but the main thing is, we want to win.”

Also on the West squad are Brooks Pounders of Temecula Valley, who hit .333 with 10 home runs and as a pitcher had a 1.82 earned-run average; El Toro right-hander Chad Thompson, who had a 1.28 ERA and was the Southern Section Division II player of the year; and Beau Wright from Los Alamitos, who struck out 114 batters while compiling a 1.07 ERA.

The Aflac All-American game began in 2003, and 143 of its 192 participants have been drafted by major league baseball teams, including 10 in the first round this year. All proceeds from the game will go to ThinkCure, which supports cancer research in Los Angeles.

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ON LATIMES.COM

A better fastball put El Toro High’s Chad Thompson on baseball’s fast track -- from junior varsity to Southern Section Division II player of the year in one season.