2016 NOVA Baseball Magazine Draft Special will be held Wednesday

June 5 - The 2016 NOVA Baseball Magazine Draft Special will be held on Wednesday night at The Auld Shebeen Irish Pub & Restaurant in Fairfax, a day before the Major League Baseball Draft begins.

Three local high school players likely to be selected in the draft, Oakton’s Joe Rizzo, Battlefield’s Jake Agnos and Madison's Pete Nielsen, as well as Centreville graduate Kevin Lachance from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Manassas Park graduate Joey Gaouette of William & Mary, Oakton graduate Chad Carroll of James Madison University, Herndon graduate Ky Parrott of James Madison, McLean graduate Phil Morse of Shenandoah University and George Mason University's Tyler Zombro and Kent Blackstone (Marshall).

The event will begin with a 30-minute autograph session with the players signing for local youth league players beginning at 6:30 p.m., followed by a 30-minute interview with the players which will be webcast on both the magazine’s website and the website of Jumpn Productions, which will be producing the event. The players will then be made available to local media for interviews following the webcast session.

There will also be door prizes donated by local vendors as well as a 50/50 raffle for four club seats and VIP parking for a Washington Nationals game for those in attendance, with proceeds from the raffle going to benefit Kyle’s Kamp, which raises awareness and funds for pediatric cancer research and Children’s National.

Also attending the event will be former big leaguer Shawn Camp, who attended Robinson and played at George Mason University before pitching in the big leagues for 11 years with five clubs.

Several players from the area were selected in last year’s draft, including second-round pick Josh Sborz (McLean/Virginia) of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and third-round selections Taylor Clarke (Broad Run/Charleston) of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Michael Matuella (Great Falls, VA/Georgetown Prep/Duke) of the Texas Rangers.

Capacity for the event is 200 people, so youth players as well as family members, teammates, coaches and friends of the players and baseball fans from the area are encouraged to arrive early. Please RSVP via our Facebook page event here.

Event Details:

Date & Time: Wednesday, June 8 beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Location: The Auld Shebeen Irish Pub & Restaurant, 3971 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, VA, 22030

6:15 p.m. : Doors open (event is in the basement, accessed via Main Street entrance)

6:30 - 7:00 p.m. : Autograph session for local youth players with Battlefileld’s Jake Agnos, Oakton’s Joe Rizzo, Flint Hill’s Khalil Lee and Centreville graduate Kevin Lachance of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

7:00-7:30 p.m. : Magazine’s webcast special with host Joey Kamide interviewing the players on their careers, development, and now their preparation and anticipation entering the first day of the Major League Baseball Draft on Thursday.

7:30-7:45 p.m. : Open media availability with the players and members of local newspapers and media outlets.