CHARLESTON, W. Va. – West Virginia’s Calvin Anderson singled to knock home Delmarva’s Ronnie Welty for the game-winning run off of Charleston’s Pat Venditte in the bottom of the ninth as the North All-Stars edged the South All-Stars, 8-7, Tuesday night in the 50th South Atlantic League All-Star Game at Charleston, W.Va.’s Appalachian Power Park.
Starting in right field, Melky Mesa went 1-for-2 before being lifted in the sixth inning. Dan Brewer went hitless as the designated hitter for the Southern Division squad. Hector Noesi threw a perfect second inning and tallied one punch out.
An Appalachian Power Park crowd of 5,689 watched its hometown hero, Anderson, collect the hit that scored the game-winning run.
Welty started the bottom of the ninth with a single off Venditte, the New York Yankees prospect who pitches with both hands.
Venditte struck out the next batter, Greensboro first baseman Ben Lasater, before facing Anderson in a right-hander vs. right-hander matchup.
Anderson lined Venditte's 2-2 delivery into center field for a single. Welty moved to third on the hit, then slid home in undramatic fashion when Venditte received Asheville center fielder Scotty Robinson's relay throw, but misfired on his toss to Lexington third baseman Ebert Rosario.
Lake County second baseman Karexon Sanchez was named the South Atlantic League All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. He was 2-for-2 with two RBIs, two runs, two walks and a stolen base.
The Southern Division took a 3-0 lead in the third. Bowling Green's Tim Beckham hit a one-out single off Lake County right-hander Alexander Perez. Greenville's Anthony Rizzo and Savannah's Sean Ratliff followed with back-to-back RBI doubles. Ratliff moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jordan Pacheco of Asheville.
Lexington right-hander Robert Bono allowed three consecutive singles to Greensboro's Paul Gran, West Virginia's Chase d'Arnaud and Lakewood's Anthony Gose to start the home half of the third. That loaded the bases for Sanchez, who delivered a sacrifice fly to score Gran.
Bowling Green right-hander Chris Andujar allowed a leadoff single to Gran in the fifth, then plunked d'Arnaud. A fielder's choice put Gose on first and he stole second on Andujar's 1-0 delivery to Sanchez, who drew a full-count walk five pitches later.
That loaded the bases for Lakewood catcher Travis d'Arnaud, who lined a two-RBI double down the right-field line to tie the score. An RBI single by Hickory's Mike Bianucci gave the Northern Division its first lead, 4-3.
In the top of the sixth, Hagerstown right-hander Marcos Frias issued a four-pitch leadoff walk to Ratliff, who moved to second on a stolen base, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored the game-tying run on a groundout by Tim Federowicz of Greenville.
Rome's Luis Sumoza followed with a single off Frias, who then surrendered a two-run homer to Augusta's Juan Perez as the Southern Division regained the lead, 6-4.
The Northern Division tied the score back up in the seventh. Gose reached on a bloop double, then scored on Rome catcher Jesus Sucre's two-base throwing error when he tried to steal third.
Sanchez singled off Savannah left-hander Robert Carson and advanced to second on the same play when Asheville center fielder Scott Robinson misplayed the ball. After stealing third, Sanchez scored on Lasater's groundout.
Hickory third baseman Erik Morrison drew a leadoff walk against Greenville left-hander Armando Zerpa in the eighth. Zerpa retired the next two batters, but Sanchez stroked a two-out double into the left-field corner to plate Morrison with the go-ahead run.
Lakewood right-hander Justin DeFratus served up a solo shot to Rosario to tie the score, 7-7, in the ninth and set the stage for Anderson's heroics.
Following the three-day all-star break, the RiverDogs travel to Savannah to battle a five-game series at Historic Grayson Stadium starting Thursday, June 25, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. Both teams will announce their starting pitchers at a later date.
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