July 15, 2009
ARLINGTON, Texas - Two former UT Arlington standouts took main stage last night with the best among Major League Baseball at the 80th All-Star Game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Former Maverick and Southland Conference batting champion Hunter Pence was one of two representatives for the Houston Astros, and three-time All-SLC selection Trey Hillman, who is manager of the Kansas City Royals, was an assistant coach with the American League squad. Both Pence and Hillman are Arlington natives who graduated from Arlington High School and Sam Houston High School, respectively.
Hillman and the American League won the All-Star Game 4-3, claiming their 13th straight All-Star Game victory over the National League dating back to 1996.
Pence, now in his third major league season as the starting right fielder for Houston, didn't make an appearance in the game but was selected to his first Midsummer Classic by the players' ballot that consisted of eight All-Star game pitchers and eight reserve position players.
Pence was a two-year standout outfielder for the Mavericks in 2003 and 2004, where he was a two-time first team All-Southland Conference selection. He was the 2004 SLC Player and Hitter of the Year batting .395 with eight home runs. After capping his collegiate career with an SLC batting championship, Pence became the highest drafted Maverick as the 64th overall selection (2nd Round) by the Houston Astros in the 2004 MLB Draft.
He is currently batting .298 with 15 doubles, four triples, 11 home runs and 37 RBI for the Astros. Just recently, Pence notched his 400th career base hit (7/10) and soon will tally his 200th big league RBI (189 career RBI).
Hillman made his Major League All-Star Game debut as an assistant coach last night with the American League team. Named the 15th manager in Royals history on Oct. 19, 2007, Hillman has followed with 112 victories in a year and a half as manager.
Hillman was a four-year letterwinner at UT Arlington (1982-85) and remains the only three-time All-SLC selection in Mavericks baseball history. He ended his career with the highest single-season batting average (.442) in UT Arlington history. Hillman then began his professional playing career in 1985 when he signed a free agent contract with the Cleveland Indians.
In addition, Pence and Hillman are now the second and third Mavericks to make an MLB All-Star Game following John Lackey (1998) who was a pitcher for the American League representing the Los Angeles Angels in 2001.
