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East Wins Battle of Fill-in Pitchers, 7-2

 

29 July 2006

East Wins Battle of Fill-in Pitchers, 7-2

SOUTH YARMOUTH, Mass. – Red Wilson Field played host on Saturday to the 44th installment of the Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game, presented by the Leading Banks of Cape Cod. It is only fitting that the team hosting the All-Star Game leads the Eastern Division with 46 points and a 23-15-0 record, and it is only fitting that the home East squad came away with a 7-2 victory. 

AllStar_MitchMoreland.jpg
CCBL Director of Umpiring Sol Yas
with Home Run Hitting Contest winner,
 Mitch Moreland
SportsPix 2006



     Before the start of the game, players and coaches both felt humbled to be selected to participate in the All-Star Game. Kelly Nicholson of Orleans, the head coach of the Eastern Division, felt that “today is about the players. I told them to play how they play because that is what got them here, they are to enjoy this moment because it is something special.” 

     Buster Posey (Florida State) of the Y-D Red Sox and opposing player Justin Smoak (South Carolina) of the Cotuit Kettleers both felt that today was an “honor.” Both started the All-Star Game and have been powering their teams into first place of their respective divisions. 

     The starting pitchers, distant memories by the end of the game, were Charlie Furbush (St. Joseph’s-ME) of Hyannis for the West and Shaun Seibert (Arkansas) of Brewster for the East. Both pitchers threw perfect innings, each forcing three ground balls to get things started. 

     The West got on the board first in the top of the third. Will Atwood (South Carolina) got the first two outs on grounders, but then he gave up a double to Eric Farris (Loyola Marymount), who moved over to third on a single by Brad Chalk (Clemson) and was driven home by Jeffrey Rea (Mississippi State). 

     The East matched that run in the bottom of the third with a sacrifice fly by Antone DeJesus (Kentucky), driving in Reid Fronk (UNC). The East threatened to score more with the bases loaded, but Matt Mangini (Oklahoma State) made a nice leaping catch at third, denying the East at least two more runs.

AllStar_JoshSatin.jpg
 Phil Edwards, Sol Yas and Paul Galop with
 East MVP, Josh Satin
SportsPix 2006

     The West answered right back in the top of the fourth with a sacrifice fly by Brett Wallace, (Arizona State), scoring Mitch Canham (Oregon State).

     Both teams started the game short on pitchers due to the doubleheaders colliding with the playoff races in the Cape League schedule, and both teams had to turn to their position players for support. The East used center fielder Justin Snyder (San Diego) in the fifth and left fielder Luke Sommer (San Francisco) in the sixth. Snyder allowed the first two batters to reach but then got Rea to fly out, Smoak to strike out, and Sean Gaston (Notre Dame) to fly out. Sommer also allowed the first two batters to reach, but he settled down to work 1 2/3 scoreless innings on the way to the win in the game. 

     The West then recruited the Baseball Factory Home Run Hitting Contest champion, Mitch Moreland (Mississippi State), to pitch in the bottom of the sixth. Mooreland was not originally selected to the All-Star Game, but after his 25-homer performance highlighted the pre-game festivities, he could not be passed up. Josh Satin (University of California) took advantage of the part-time pitcher with a two-run blast to deep center. In the bottom of the seventh, David Cash (Florida) came in from the outfield to pitch. Neither Snyder nor Cash had ever pitched in a game in their Cape League careers.

AllStar_BradChalk.jpg
 Phil Edwards, Paul Galop, and Sol Yas with
West MVP, Brad Chalk
SportsPix 2006

     The East broke it open in the seventh with four runs off fill-in pitcher Cash, highlighted by a DeJesus RBI double and a Matt Wieters (Georgia Tech) RBI single.

     The East followed with its own recruitment from the Home Run Hitting Contest, pressing starting first baseman Matt LaPorta (Florida) into service for a ground out in the seventh. LaPorta also came in for the eighth, striking out two players and doubtlessly rethinking his current position of first base for Brewster.

     To close out the 7-2 victory for the East was Brett Cecil (Maryland), whose nine saves currently land him third in the league. Sommer recorded his first ever Cape League win, while Mooreland was saddled with the loss after coming to the park with only the homers from his own bat on his mind. 

     The major league scouts in attendance selected Satin as the MVP of the East and Chalk as the MVP of the West. Satin was chosen for his two-run homer that gave the East a 3-2 lead. Chalk went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a walk while providing some defense in center field.

     All of the All-Stars will continue to fight for a playoff spot with one week left in the season. After that week, they enjoy a rare day off before the playoffs start on Tuesday, August 8.

By Chad Burkart and Jonathan French, CCBL Interns 
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John Garner, Jr.
Director of Public Relations & Broadcasting
(508) 790-0394 [email protected] 

Will Bussiere
Web Editor
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