East Outslugs West in Frontier League All-Star Game
July 11, 2012 - Frontier League (FL)
Normal CornBelters News Release
Normal, IL - The homerun derby may have been scheduled for Tuesday night but no one told the players that, as the 2012 State Farm Frontier League All-Star game saw the two teams combined for a total of seven long balls on the evening, with the Eastern Division's best prevailing over the All-Stars from the West 9-6 Wednesday night at the Corn Crib. London's Joash Brodin was honored with the game's Most Valuable Player Award, going 4-5 with a homerun and three runs scored.
The squad from the East treated fans at the Corn Crib to souvenirs early and often, with Traverse City's Jose Vargas opening the scoring in the top of the first when he belted a two-out, solo shot to the top of the berm in left. Southern Illinois's Chad Maddox extended the East's lead when he too hammered a solo homerun in the top of the 2nd.
Traverse City's Jeff Flagg added a long ball of his own in the third, this one a two-run blast, bringing in Brodin. Later in the inning Maddox crossed the plate for the second time in the game, this time on a single by Florence's Jim Jacquot, pushing the East's advantage to 5-0.
Back-to-back hits by Schaumburg's Frank Pfister and River City's Jeremy Synan to lead off the bottom of the inning put the West in business for the first time in the contest. Consecutive RBI groundouts by Windy City's Chris Wade and Michael Torres brought in the runners and cut the East's advantage to just 5-2.
Traverse City's Brian Heere became the third Beach Bum to hit a homerun in the first four innings by sending a leadoff line drive homerun over the wall in right center. The East wasn't done there, as Brodin got in on the action with a two-out long ball, pushing the lead back to five runs at 7-2.
In the 5th, the tandem of Pfister and Synan again provided the West with some offense, with Synan following a Pfister single with a two-run shot, narrowing the score to 7-4.
Back-to-back doubles from Brodin and Traverse City's Chase Burch in the 5thbrought home Brodin for the third time on the evening, giving the East an 8-4 advantage. Southern Illinois's Jake Kaase added another tally for the visitors when he hit the 7th homerun of the night to leadoff the 8th.
Normal CornBelter catcher Pat Trettel gave the hometown fans something to cheer about as he helped cut into the East's lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the frame, bringing in Schaumburg's Chad Mozingo. The next batter, River City's Jason Patton, knocked in Gateway's Jarod Yakubik with an RBI single of his own, bringing the score to 9-6, but the West would get no closer.
Lake Erie's Paul Fagan picked up the win for the East, while Gateway's Tim Brown took the loss. After taking Thursday off, the second half of the Frontier League season resumes Friday.
Frontier League Stories from July 11, 2012
- Brodin Wins All-Star MVP - London Rippers
- Hawks Hitless in All-Star Game - Rockford RiverHawks
- East Outslugs West in Frontier League All-Star Game - Normal CornBelters
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