June 25, 2004

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Tucson Sidewinders catcher and former Stony Brook standout Craig Ansman has been named to the Triple-A All-Star game. First baseman teammate Steve Neal will join Ansman on the Pacific Coast League All-Star squad when it faces off against the International League All-Stars on Wednesday, July 14th at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I., home of the International League's Pawtucket PawSox.

Ansman, who hails from West Islip, N.Y., is tied for the team lead with nine home runs this season while hitting .311 with a .402 on-base percentage and a.576 slugging percentage for the Arizona Diamondbacks triple-A affliate. Ansman was named the Pacific Coast League's Player-Of-The-Week for the week of 5/10-5/16 during which time he blasted grand slams in back to back games while driving in 12 runs for the week. It is the third All-Star selection for Ansman, who played in the Texas League All-Star game last season and the California League All-Star game in 2002.

In his second season with the Tucson, Neal is hitting .294/.382/.511 and is tied with Ansman with a team leading nine home runs while manning first base for the Sidewinders. He belted home runs in four consecutive games from 5/6-5/9 and has twice hit a pair of roundtrippers in the same game. This will mark Neal's first professional All-Star game.