Sanford, Fla. – On a picture perfect Sunday afternoon in Sanford, the West All-Stars defeated the East All-Star team by a score of 4-2.
The West team consisted of players from the Leesburg Lightning, Winter Garden Squeeze and Winter Park Diamond Dawgs. The East was comprised of players from the DeLand Suns, Sanford River Rats and Seminole County Scorpions.
Robert Kwiatowski (Leesburg/Marshall) drew the start for the West, and delivered an impressive outing. After giving up a leadoff single, and error put Scout McFalls (DeLand/Winthrop) on 3rd base. Kwiatowski was able to buckle down and strike out the next two hitters to escape the jam. East starter Jesus Valoy (DeLand/Miami Dade) used a 5-4-3 double play in the bottom half to escape the first and keep the game tied.
The second inning was the most exciting of the day. With two outs in the top half, Andrew Labosky (Sanford/Nova Southeastern) launched a solo shot over the right center fence to give the East a 1-0 lead. The West offense was quick to answer back as they took advantage of three East errors. With one out, Wes Weeks (Leesburg/UNF) singled and moved to second when his Lightning teammate Jay Prather (UNF) added a single of his own. A wild pitch moved both runners up. Tanner Clark, the third Lightning/Osprey player of the inning, then poked a ground ball up the middle that was mishandled, allowing Weeks to score. After a strikeout, a booted groundball and an errant throw allowed both Prather and Clark to come across. Aaron Anderson (Winter Garden/Flagler) then delivered a single, his second hit of the day, to center to plate Luke Brown and make the score 4-1.
The third, fourth and fifth innings saw the scoreboard remain unblemished. The West pitchers … Hunter Caudelle (Leesburg/Georgia Gwinnett), Brooks Brophy (Winter Park/Alabama Huntsville) and Louis Davenport (Leesburg/Pensacola State) … combined to allow zero hits with four strikeouts. The East arms were equally effective as Scorpions teammates Ross Korosec (Rollins), Kyle Brana (Undecided) and Christian Simon (Marshall) saw only one batter reach via hit.
The sixth inning saw a slew of substitutions on both sides. The East managed to get one run back when Miles Simington walked, stole second, stole third and scored on a wild pitch. Josh Shapiro (Leesburg/Marshall) avoided further damage by striking out Kyle Ball (DeLand/Stetson), leaving a runner stranded on third. In the bottom half, Jarrod Cande (Sanford/Santa Fe) showcased his rocket arm, throwing out the speedy Jose Crisostomo (Leesburg/Miami Dade) at the plate to end the inning.
The seventh, eighth and ninth innings belonged to the pitchers once again as neither team was able to push a run across, leaving the game with a final score of 4-2.
Wes Weeks was named the All-Star Game MVP after picking up two hits in two at-bats, including a double and a run scored. Ryan Ashworth (Winter Garden/Flagler) took home the win on the mound.
Before the All-Star Game, twelve players took part in the home run derby. Joe Burke (DeLand/Kentucky Wesleyan) launched four over the fence to earn a bid in the finals. His teammate Brayden Sisson and Tanner May (Leesburg) each had two home runs to reach the finals as well. Burke then carried on, putting three more over the fence to claim the title as home run king.
