Japan-Iowa all-star baseball in C.R. Tuesday

You might be looking Tuesday night at the next Ichiro. Or the next Joe Mauer, for that matter.A high-school baseball team from Yamanashi, Japan, is here to play a team of local and area preps in what is being labeled the Japan-Iowa All-Star Baseball Classic at Memorial Stadium. First pitch is 7.The nine-inning contest is being sponsored by the Iowa AAU, Cedar Rapids Convention and Visitors Bureau, Cedar Rapids Kernels and Perfect Game USA. Yamanashi has a sister-state relationship with Iowa that was formed in the 1990s, according to Perfect Game's Jim Ecker, which is how this game was born.The Japanese team played games in Central Iowa last week. Ecker said teams from Iowa have toured and played games in Yamanashi in previous years."Basically, Teresa Parementer of the Iowa AAU said that there was this team was coming to Iowa to play some games," Ecker said. "It might be a good idea if they played a game either here or in Iowa City."We thought it was a good idea."The local team consists of 18 kids who are participating in Perfect Game's fall program. Some of the more recognizable names include Austin Christensen of Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Dakota Freese of Cedar Rapids Washington and Nick Day of Solon.