Northern Division Comes Up Short In NECBL All-Star Game

The Southern Division All-Star team took down the Northern Division by a score of 4-3 in the New England Collegiate Baseball League All-Star Game after shutting down a late eighth inning charge.

Fans piled into Holyoke, Massachusetts’ MacKenzie Stadium to watch the game as well as the home run derby and 60-yard dash contest. Over 50 scouts from every single Major League team were there as well, and it couldn’t have been more exciting as the city’s own Endy Morales opened the game on the mound for the North.

Endy, a rising Southern New Hampshire University senior pitcher currently playing for the Valley Blue Sox, was dominant in the opening (and his only) frame. It continued a common trend of his, as his season ERA is just 1.12 in 40 innings pitched. He’s 5-0 with 32 strikeouts and has proved to be the most important arm on the team as the Blue Sox roll into the playoffs having secured the top seed.

The rest of the game was a little bit different for the Northern Division team, though. Randy Taveras of the Danbury Westerners, who took home the game’s Most Valuable Player trophy, opened things up for the Southern Division in the second inning with a big triple. Regular season teammate and fellow All-Star Eduardo Aaron Antonini doubled in another run, and the South left no slack on the defensive side.

They tossed 5 scoreless innings, but the North’s Gregory Hardison drove in his team’s first run with an extra-base hit. Both sides traded runs in the following frame, but the Northern Division squad couldn’t manage to tie it up. Austin Biggar of the Sanford Mainers drove in a run to bring them within one run of the South, but New Bedford closer C.J. Dandeneau cleaned up the mess.

In the end, the Southern Division took the game 4-3, undoubtedly a nail-biter. Lorenzo Hampton (Keene) slugged his way to a home run derby victory, and the 60-yard dash was won by the Schooner’s Brett Rodriguez.