06/28/2011 10:52 AM ET 2011 Aquafina Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit & Run national finalists announced

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The 24 national finalists in the 2011 Aquafina Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit & Run competition, the official youth skills competition of Major League Baseball, were announced yesterday for the first-time ever live on MLB Tonight on MLB Network.

More than 600,000 youth participated in over 4,000 competitions that took place across North America.

For a second year, a nationwide Girls Softball Division was part of the program which allowed girls to compete and advance separately from the boys throughout the competition. The remaining boys and girls will compete at the National Finals during MLB All-Star Week in Phoenix, AZ. The competition will take place on Monday, July 11 at 12:15 p.m. Arizona Time as part of Gatorade All-Star Workout Day.

A COMPLETE LIST OF 2011 NATIONAL FINALISTS IS BELOW:

Pitch, Hit & Run (PHR) invites youth to demonstrate their skills by competing in pitching, hitting and running competitions. PHR participants can advance through four levels of competition, beginning at the local level, which can be hosted by organizations, leagues, or volunteers within a community, and continuing through sectional and team competitions. All 30 MLB Clubs hosted team championships at their ballparks on weekends from May 28 through June 26. The top three competitors nationwide from each age group (7-8, 9-10, 11-12 and 13-14) advance to the 2011 Aquafina Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit & Run National Finals.

In addition to the Aquafina Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit & Run National Finals, the 24 finalists will make a special trip to MLB All-Star FanFest, an interactive baseball theme park and the largest baseball fan event in the world. Among its attractions are an exhibit from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, batting cages, clinics from Major League legends, free autograph sessions with former D-backs, MLB legends and Hall of Famers, memorabilia and much more.

Gatorade All-Star Workout Day is the second day of 2011 MLB All-Star Week events at Chase Field. The day features American League and National League batting practice followed by the State Farm Home Run Derby, where four players from each League participate in a home run hitting contest with rounds consisting of 10 outs. All-Star Week culminates with the 82nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 12.

The 82nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and Le Reseau des Sports, and around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8:00 p.m. (EDT). ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage. MLB Network, MLB.com and Sirius XM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Game coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com or dbacks.com/asg.

About Aquafina
Aquafina (www.aquafina.com) is a product of PepsiCo Beverages Americas (PBA), a division of PepsiCo. PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales each. Our main businesses -- Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay, and Pepsi Cola -- also make hundreds of other enjoyable and wholesome foods and beverages that are respected household names throughout the world. With net revenues of approximately $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe also means a more successful future for PepsiCo. We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo's promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages for local tastes; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment, including by conserving energy and water usage, and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support, and invest in the local communities where we operate. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

About Major League Baseball Properties
The Major League Baseball Clubs formed Major League Baseball Properties (MLBP) in 1966 as the Clubs' agent for marketing and trademark licensing and protection. Major League Baseball Properties is responsible for managing consumer licensing activities, developing national advertising campaigns, cultivating sponsorship opportunities with major consumer brands and corporations, growing the game and the business of baseball outside the United States and creating national marketing programs in conjunction with Clubs, broadcast rightsholders and national sponsors. MLBP also operates a full-service video and audio production unit (Major League Baseball Productions), a publishing division and stock photo licensing agency, and manages logistics for the All-Star Game and World Series as well as all other special events. For more information on Major League Baseball, log on to www.MLB.com.

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