The East Division All-Stars defeated the West Division All-Stars, 18-2, in the 2015 PGCBL All-Star Game on Monday night to move to 4-0 in all-star games between the two squads.
In a gorgeous night in Little Falls, New York, more than 1,300 fans watched the best players in the PGCBL compete.
“It’s just exciting being with the best players in the league and everybody coming together and playing together from all the different teams and it’s a great opportunity for all of us,” said All-Star Game MVP Scott Manea.
The day started with batting practice and Scout Day activities in front of scouts from more than a dozen teams, including the San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers and Detroit Tigers.
Following the Scout Day activities, 10 sluggers from across the league competed in the 2015 Home Run Derby.
First Round Results:
Albany: Slayton Vaughan, 2
Amsterdam: Handsome Monica, 2
Glens Falls: Harrison Bragg, 4 (Advanced to Finals)
Mohawk Valley: Troy Scocca, 1
Saugerties: Clint Hardy, 3 (Advanced to Finals)
Adirondack: Brendan Looby, 1
Elmira: Hayden Kelly, 2
Newark: Charlie Sobieraski, 1
Utica: Taylor Olmstead, 2
Victor: Mark Cardinalli, 2
Finals:
Saugerties: Clint Hardy, 3
Glens Falls: Harrison Bragg, 0
“It’s just amazing,” Hardy said of winning the Home Run Derby. “Just to be selected then to go out here and put it on for the crowd and have the support from the team and watch those balls fly was incredible. Definitely a dream come true.”
Hardy was also named an All-Star and had an RBI in the actual game.
“Just to come out here and (win the Derby) is definitely rewarding,” he said. “It’s definitely one of the best setups I’ve ever been to. I love it here.”
After pre-game introductions and the National Anthem, it was time for baseball.
Starting pitchers Zach Logue (Amsterdam) and Michael Messier (Utica) tossed scoreless innings for the East and West, respectively.
The East took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second as Troy Scocca (Mohawk Valley) hit an RBI single to score Fairfield University teammate Brendan Tracy (Amsterdam). Coach Keith Griffin's club extended the lead to 2-0 in the third as Ryan Hooper (Glens Falls) hit a solo home run to left field. Hooper has hit four home runs for Glens Falls, which leads the team.
In the top of the fourth, a throwing error by Tracy allowed a run to score for the West and Josh Lovelady (Elmira) scored on a wild pitch later in the inning to tie the game at two.
The East All-Stars answered in the bottom of the fourth on a throwing error by Christian Santisteban (Elmira), a Riley Mahan (Amsterdam) sacrifice fly and a Justin Yurchak (Amsterdam) two-RBI double.
The East put up its second four-run inning in the bottom of the sixth as Troy Scocca hit his second RBI single of the game, Sam Machonis (Mohawk Valley) and Mark Powell (Glens Falls) both hit an RBI single and Scott Manea (Amsterdam) hit a sacrifice fly to center.
A wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth allowed Joe Venturino (Saugerties) to score to make it an 11-2 game and Scott Manea (Amsterdam) hit an RBI groundout later in the inning to make it 12-2. Home Run Derby Champion Clint Hardy (Saugerties) hit an RBI double to left field to make it 13-2.
Ryan Hooper (Glens Falls) drove in two more runs in the bottom of the ninth with a double. Scott Manea hit a three-run home run to center field later in the inning to extend the lead to 18-2.
Manea said in a postgame interview that he was sitting on a fastball and looking to drive the ball to centerfield and when he got the fastball from Chris Kemp (Victor), he promptly hit it into the centerfield bleachers.
Tyler Ehlers (Glens Falls) allowed the two West runs in his inning of work, but picked up the win for the East. Logan Harasta (Newark) gave up the four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the loss for the West.
Scott Manea (Amsterdam) was named the All-Star Game MVP after going 2-for-3 with five RBIs, including the three-run home run. Manea becomes the second Amsterdam player to be named All-Star Game MVP.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Manea said of winning the All-Star Game MVP and competing in the game. “This league has been great and there’s a lot of great players and we played a great game and I’m just excited.
On the season, Manea is hitting .308 with 13 RBIs.
Keith Griffin, who coached the East All-Stars, has now been the winning coach for all five PGCBL All-Star Games. He gives the credit to the players.
“It’s a player-driven game and we had that tonight in our All-Star Game," he said. “I knew when we picked the team on Monday what a good team we had. We got the right guys and it was evidenced tonight by the way we played.”
All around, Monday night was the perfect night to showcase the PGCBL.
"You couldn't have asked for a better night for baseball. Mother Nature cooperated with beautiful weather,” said PGCBL President Jeff Kunion. “The Home Run Derby provided some early action for the fans, some of the finest players in the league were able to exhibit their skills to great fans and more than a dozen scouts and the postgame fireworks show was a great way to cap off the night."
"You couldn't ask for a better showcase event."
ASG Results
2011: East 7 West 4 (July 18, Elmira, New York, Dunn Field)
2012: Team Griffin 4 Team Ebright 0 (July 24, Amsterdam, New York, Shuttleworth Park)
2013: East 7 West 3 (July 24, Newark, New York, Colburn Park)
2014: East 3 West 1 (July 15, Elmira, New York, Dunn Field)
2015: East 18 West 2 (July 20, Little Falls, New York, Veterans Memorial Park)
ASG Most Valuable Player
2011: Cullen Wacker, Mohawk Valley
2012: Giuseppe Papaccio, Amsterdam
2013: Mike Fisher, Mohawk Valley
2014: Kevin Cowan, Glens Falls
2015: Scott Manea, Amsterdam
For more information on the PGCBL, follow the league on Twitter, @PGCBLBaseball.
Box Score: http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscore.html?gameid=301785
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