Wareham – One day before the country’s finest collegiate baseball players take the field in Hyannis for the annual Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star game on Saturday, America’s elite high school stars will gather in Wareham for the inaugural Cape Cod High School Classic, providing major league scouts and baseball fans an unprecedented opportunity to watch the stars of tomorrow.

Friday’s game, sponsored by the Baseball Factory and Team One, will showcase 36 of the nation’s top juniors and seniors.

The game begins at noon at Clem Spillane Field, home of the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Wareham Gatemen.  Admission is free.  It will be preceded by a home run hitting contest at 9 a.m.  The first 80 youngsters to arrive will be allowed to shag balls in the outfield during the contest.

The Baseball Factory, based in Columbia, Md., conducts developmental programs, camps and clinics for high school players as they prepare to enter collegiate programs. 

Team One, a Baseball Factory subsidiary, hosts showcase events that allow players to compete before scouts and college recruiters.  Past participants in Team One games include Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Prior, Oakland A’s third baseman Eric Chavez, Texas Rangers third baseman Hank Blalock and Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay.

Players were nominated by their high school coaches, with input from pro scouts.

“With so many pro scouts here for the Cape League All-Star game, this gives them a chance to get a look at the best high school players in the country,” Baseball Factory CEO Steve Sclafani said.

Among those participating in a game that will be split between Baseball Factory East and Team One West are teammates Cory Rasmus and Kasey Kiker of Russell County (Ala.) High School.  Rasmus, a right-handed pitcher, was 11-0 with a 0.50 ERA last spring, while Kiker, a left-hander, went 12-1 with a 0.52 ERA and fanned 173 batters in 94 innings.  Both throw in the low to mid-90s.

First baseman Chris Parmelee of Chino Hills (Calif.) High School will also be in the game.  He is committed to 2004 College World Series champion Cal-State Fullerton.

Texas will be represented by southpaw Aaron Miller and righty Ryan Jenkins, considered two of the top pitchers in the state.  Right-fielder and power pitcher Jonathan Edwards will also catch scouts’ attention.  At 6-5, 235 pounds, he runs the 60-yard dash in 6.7 seconds and hits 95 mph on the radar gun.

“If they make this team, they are the cream of the crop and will be playing for a Division I collegiate program,” Sclafani said.