NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – A pair of home runs staked the North to a five-run lead after three innings of play, but the South eventually clawed back thanks to a pair of long balls of their own – including one off the bat of Hernen Sardinas with nobody out in the top of the ninth to tie the game up – as the 2017 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) All-Star Game at picturesque Joe Wolfe Field ended to a 5-5 tie in front of over 2,000 fans, marking the second straight year that the NECBL’s take on the Midsummer Classic ended in a draw.
North Adams SteepleCats starter Blake Whitney got things started after fanning two in a perfect first inning, and homers by Sanford’s Colby Maiola and Luke Reynolds staked the North a 3-0 advantage, with the latter being a two-run shot. Maiola, who also had two singles and scored the North’s fifth run, was named the game’s most valuable player.
Maiola was the batter when the North added another runs to its lead in the bottom of the third; Maiola singled to center and an error in the outfield brought in the fourth run of the game. A dropped third strike pushed the lead to five after three full innings.
The North had more opportunities to extend its lead, but four double plays turned by the South’s defense kept them within striking distance.
The lead was trimmed back down to three in the top of the fourth after Tommy Jew tripled to center to score Jimmy Titus, and Jew would then come home on a wild pitch to make it 5-2. An inning later, Andrew Daschbach left the yard with a solo homer to make it 5-3, and then in the seventh John Trousdale singled and scored two batters later on a Kaleb Foster base hit to make it a one-run game heading to the final two frames.
Sardinas completed the comeback when he smashed the first pitch he saw to start the inning over the left field wall to make it a 5-5 game.
North Adams’ Dillon Paulson had a chance to be the hometown hero with the winning run on first base, but Ocean State’s Aaron Pinto was able to get the final out on a strikeout to preserve the tie.
The game, which featured 60 of the New England League’s top student-athletes from across all 13 teams and more than 50 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 Robert Boselli III. The 60-yard dash contest, meanwhile, was won by North Adams’ Curtis Godin.
The NECBL congratulates all its worthy student-athletes who were in attendance yesterday and thanks the entire North Adams SteepleCats organization for their efforts in hosting the most successful NECBL All-Star Game to date.
