South Western baseball player Parker Bean
York, PA - Parker Bean and Logan Mummert have played baseball together plenty of times before. The pair, rising seniors at South Western and Littlestown High Schools, respectively, are part of the same summer league team, the Mid-Atlantic Rookies.

Still, getting to play together in the inaugural Big 26 Baseball Classic -- a three-game, all-star showcase featuring players from Pennsylvania and Maryland -- held some extra significance.

The two YAIAA standouts got a chance to flash their skills Saturday, during a doubleheader at Sovereign Bank Stadium. Bean (designated hitter) and Mummert (catcher) both started the opening game, won by Pennsylvania, 7-5. And Bean fired a clean inning

Littlestown baseball player Logan Mummert
during the nightcap, in which Maryland rolled to a 15-4 victory.

"The whole experience is just so much fun," said Mummert, who went 0-for-2 in addition to catching five combined innings during the two games.

The series moves north Sunday, with the finale scheduled for 6 p.m. at Harrisburg's Metro Bank Stadium.

But like the Big 33 Football Classic -- whose parent company created and operates the Big 26 -- the weekend is meant to feature much more than baseball. On Thursday, the two teams took part in the Big 33's "buddy program." Each player was paired with a special-needs child, with whom they played in a T-ball-style "Challenger Game" on Thursday night.

"That was a great experience," Bean said. "To be able to play with those kids, a lot of them love the game of baseball, and some of them aren't able to play."

"It just felt great to see them having so much fun," Mummert added.

The all-star teams were forced to play a doubleheader on Saturday after Friday night's contest was rained out. Still, the two games drew a few dozen scouts and college baseball coaches who scattered throughout the seats at Sovereign Bank Stadium.

Neither Bean nor Mummert figured prominently into the outcomes of the two games, although each showed glimpses of their ability. Mummert lined out to right field in his first at-bat, then popped into a fielder's choice in his only other plate appearance late in Game 2.

Bean also came away empty at the plate (0-for-3). But the 6-foot-6 right-hander touched 89 mph on the radar gun during his one turn on the mound during Game 2. With Mummert behind the plate, Bean struck out a batter and allowed only a walk during an impressive eighth inning.

Bean is scheduled to throw two more innings Sunday.

"I was trying to pump it. I was trying to get to that 9-0," said Bean, referring to reaching 90 mph on the radar gun Saturday. "Maybe tomorrow."
771-2045; @johnsclayton