Wayne County Life

ELMIRA, NY- The East Division All-Stars beat the West Division All-Stars, 3-1, in the 2014 PGCBL All-Star Game, held in Elmira at Historic Dunn Field on Tuesday night. Kevin Cowan (Glens Falls) picked up the win and took home All-Star Game MVP honors. Zac Bellinger (Elmira) won the Home Run Derby prior to the game.

 

The East struck first, scoring a run in the top of the second on a Demetrius Webb (Albany) RBI groundout, scoring Dutchmen teammate Cameron Miller. The West answered in the home half of the inning as Chris Kalousidian (Elmira) scored on a wild pitch after reaching on a JaVon Shelby (Amsterdam) throwing error to lead off the inning.

 

After the second, it was all zeros until the top of the seventh when the East took a 3-1 lead. Sean Aspinall (Albany) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in the first run of the inning and Trey Stover (Mohawk Valley) drove in the second run with an RBI groundout.

 

The West didn’t notch its first hit until the bottom of the eighth inning, when Cedric Mullins (Utica) singled to center field. The hit moved Nick Walker (Elmira) to second with no one out. After a wild pitch and a walk loaded the bases, Kyle Zurak (Albany) struck out Hayden Kelly (Utica) and reliever Thomas Hackimer (Amsterdam) got Justin Korenblatt (Adirondack) to ground into a fielder’s chocice to escape the threat.

 

After Hackimer retired Joe Ogren (Watertown) to lead off the bottom of the ninth, Lucas Godlewski (Mohawk Valley) retired Tanner Giesel (Newark) and Samm Wiggins (Newark) to end the game. Wiggins hit a ball down the left field line for a single, but was thrown out at second by Jayson Sullivan (Mohawk Valley) to end the game.

 

PGCBL-leading hitter Josh Gardiner (Amsterdam) went 1-for-2 for the East. Fellow Mohawks Jonathan Pryor and Shelby each had a hit apiece and Colin Hawk (Mohawk Valley) got the fourth hit of the game. Mullins and Wiggins got the only two hits of the game for the West.

 

In the Home Run Derby, Zac Bellinger beat Adirondack’s Mark Williams in the finals, 4-2. Both players hit five home runs in the semifinals to advance to the finals. Zach Collett (Mohawk Valley) and Jake Salpietro (Amsterdam) also competed in the semifinals.

 

The PGCBL is affiliated with Perfect Game USA, the largest independent scouting sericvice in the country.  This year, more than than 1,250 professional players have either worn the uniform of a PGCBL team or participated in a Perfect Game USA event.