18-Grip Shield Glory Days

18AAA All Star Game

After three postponements last week, the 18AAA All Star game was finally played Thursday night, June 26 at the Lantana Sports Complex. The Nationals, featuring players from the Chamos, Cardinals, Yankees and Beach Bums scored a 6-2 come from behind win over the Americans, consisting of star players from the first place Caribbean Tigres, Palm Beach Wave and American Landscaping Leones. The game had been postponed three times the previous week. Skies again appeared ominous, and some brief lightning and thunder frequented the area, but three innings in, the clouds rolled away, giving way to a very pleasant moisture free evening.

Trailing 2-0 after Tigres' ace Jose Acuna fired three shutout innings for the Americans, giving up only a bad hop single to Ray Infante (Chamos), the Nationals tied the game with a pair of runs in the fourth off Leones' reliever Kyle Merritt. David Cruz of the Yankee singled and the Cardinals' Danny LaPerna drew a walk. Both moved up on an infield grounder by Nationals' manager David Machado (Chamos). Jonathan Martinez (Chamos) grounded out to short, scoring Cruz and advancing LaPerna to third where he scored on a passed ball.

The Americans had scored their only runs, both unearned, in the first inning. Melvin Bruno (Tigres) reached first on an error by second baseman Willie Martinez (Chamos). Ariel (Santos Jr.) Adames (Tigres) walked. Both moved up on an infield grounder. Bruno scored on a sacrifice fly by Acuna, and Adames came home on a base hit by Tigres' teammate Diego Santos.

The Nationals went ahead to stay on walks to Max Johnson (Yankees), who stole second, and Infante, and Billy Brescia drilled a shot to the gap in left center to drive in what proved to be the game winner with a double that gave the Nationals a 3-2 lead they would not relinquish.

At that point, Bruno came on to relieve Merritt, walked Brian Fitzsimmons (Cardinals) intentionally to load the bases, then got out of a bases full, no out jam by getting Gustavo Castillo (Chamos) on a fielder's choice grounder from third base to the plate, striking out Jeremy Badovic (Yankees) and getting Ryan McDonald (Cardinals) on a foul out to third base.

The Nationals added an unearned run off Bruno in the seventh. Carlos Dominguez (Chamos) singled, moved to second on an errant pickoff throw by catcher Jorge Lopez (Leones) and scored on a hit by Johnson, who was out trying to stretch his RBI hit into a double. And, they closed it out in the 8th off Tigres' reliever Gustavo Lopez. Fitzsimmons and Castillo both walked. Fitzsimmons stole third and scored on one of two Lopez wild pitches. Castillo also swiped third base, then scored on a single by McDonald. Cruz was the only National squader to get two hits. Santos, skipper Nick Adames and Matt Evans (Palm Beach Wave) had two hits apiece for the Americans.

Perennial All Star Brescia, who drove in the game winning run with a double, the only extra base hit of the contest, was selected as the game's Most Valuable Player. LaPerna got the win, Merritt the loss, both in relief. .