South Edges North, 4-3, in 2018 NECBL All-Star Game
Links: Box Score
HOLYOKE, Mass. – After building an early three-run lead, the South Division All-Stars tacked on a key insurance tally in the eighth and held off a late North Division rally to give the South a 4-3 victory in the 2018 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) All-Star Game at MacKenzie Stadium on Sunday night.
Playing in front of dozens of scouts representing every Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise, the New England League’s showcase of the top student-athletes from across the league gave the capacity crowd a highly entertaining evening.
Danbury’s Randy Taveras (Marist) was named the 2018 All-Star Game Most Valuable Player after scoring the first game back in the top of the second thanks to a triple; another Westerner, Eduardo Aaron Antonini (Middle Tennessee State) doubled home another run to account for the only crooked number in terms of single-inning scoring for the entire game, before the South stretched its lead to 3-0 after Ocean State’s Grant English (Winthrop) drove in another run in the third.
After five scoreless innings of dominant pitching by the South – including four perfect frames to start – the the North finally broke through with a double off the bat of Upper Valley infielder Gregory Hardison (UNC Greensboro) in the bottom of the sixth to cut that deficit to two.
An inning later, both sides used RBI doubles to do more damage; first, Newport’s Dalton Reed (Kentucky) restored his side’s three-run lead at 4-1, but North Adams outfielder Jeffery Brown (The Citadel) did likewise to make it a two-run game (4-2) heading to the final two innings. He and Upper Valley's Christopher Berry (North Florida) each had a pair of hits.
The North looked to emulate some of the late-game magic that it used a year ago and nearly found it; still trailing by two, Sanford’s Austin Biggar (Georgia) made it interesting with an RBI base hit and put the tying run on base. But New Bedford closer CJ Dandeneau (UConn) got out of the jam to end the threat and give the South the victory.
Plymouth starter Cameron Junker (Notre Dame) fanned two of the three batters he faced – one of three South pitchers to do so alongside Mystic righty Christopher Troye (UC Santa Barbara) and New Bedford righty Serafino Brito (Rutgers) – while the North saw four of its pitchers fan two or more, including three by Valley closer Ricky Reynoso (Pacific) and Sanford righty Edward Baram (Adelphi).
The game, which featured 60 of the New England League's top student-athletes from across all 13 teams and more than 40 scouts representing all 30 Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations, was the main event of an afternoon that also included the league's annual Skills Competition and 60-Yard Dash, as well as the Home Run Derby, which was won by Keene’s Lorenzo Hampton (Florida International). The 60-yard dash contest, meanwhile, was won by Mystic’s Brett Rodriguez (Wofford).
The NECBL congratulates all its worthy student-athletes who were in attendance tonight and thanks the entire Valley Blue Sox organization for their efforts in hosting the most successful NECBL All-Star Game to date.
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The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the NECBL started play in 1994 and is enjoying its 25th-year anniversary season this summer. The New England League has sent nearly 150 alumni to the Major Leagues and has had nearly 100 alumni drafted in each of the last 10 Major League Baseball Drafts. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on Twitter, Instagram and on Facebook.
