January 13, 1948
Seeing Stars: West Outlasts East in Wild All-Star Affair
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Hespeler, Norfolk (BP) – Pitching and defense went out the window as the Eastern and Western League All-stars lit up the scoreboard at The Fabulous Avalon Park in Hespeler, to the tune of 21 runs, 35 hits and 4 errors between the two squads. In spite of that, only two home runs were hit – both by the Eastern League – and the game remained remarkably close right up to the end. The Eastern League All-Stars held the lead for the first half of the game, but the Westerners eventually took the upper hand in the sixth inning, before the East tied things up in the top of the ninth. With all the offensive fireworks that preceded it, it was only fitting that the winner was ultimately decided by the last at-bat in the bottom of the ninth, sending 30,750 fans home happy.
Below is a summary of the highest scoring all-star game, the 11th in United Leagues history:
Top of the 1st:
After getting two quick outs to start the game, Sherburn’s Jesús Chapa runs into trouble. He gives up back-to-back singles to Jake Walker and Stuart Bentham, followed by a walk to Jilenko Vergara, loading the bases. Roberto Ríos then singles and Adam Ashley doubles, scoring three runs before Chapa can escape the inning.
Eastern League 3 – Western League 0
Bottom of the 1st:
With Brunswick’s Anastasio Rodríguez pitching, Francisco Rodríguez leads off with a first-pitch triple. Dylan Moyne then singles in Francisco for the West’s first run. Danny Trowbridge also singles, moving Moyne to second. Carlton Hawking immediately follows Trowbridge with a double, scoring Moyne. Trowbridge, however, is cut down at home plate on the play. Carlton Broadbent then singles his fellow Carlton over to 3B, but a throwing error (E7) allows Hawking to score, tying up the game.
Eastern League 3 – Western League 3
Top of the 2nd:
With Pulberry’s Lenny Tennison taking over with one out, Edgardo Barrón triples. Ryley McLarnon follows with a single, giving the lead back to the Easterners.
After Jake Walker singles McLarnon to 2B, Stuart Bentham then steps in and smashes a
3-run home run 347 ft. to leftfield, giving the Eastern All-stars a 4-run lead.
Eastern League 7 – Western League 3
Bottom of the 2nd:
With Downie’s Bernie Knowles pitching, Allen Cattanach singles with one out. A 4-3 ground out by Francisco Rodríguez advances Cattanach to 2B. A double by Dylan Moyne and a single by Danny Trowbridge cashes in two runs for the West.
Eastern League 7 – Western League 5
Top of the 4th:
Ryley McLarnon leads off with a first-pitch single, but is thrown out at 2B on a fielder’s choice during Jake Walker’s at-bat. Stuart Bentham then doubles home Walker, but Bentham is cut down at 3B while trying to stretch his double.
Eastern League 8 – Western League 5
Bottom of the 5th:
Juan Sánchez leads off with a walk and then advances to 2B when Otton Overbeek reaches safely on an error (E4). Wen-huan Liu follows with a single, bringing home Sánchez. Back-to-back sac flies by Roland Binns and George Kimpton then score Overbeek, getting the West to within one.
Eastern League 8 – Western League 7
Top of the 6th:
Brunswick’s Marcus Peyto slams a one-out
solo home run 373 ft. to leftfield off of Kingston’s Kia Tosh, giving the East a two-run cushion.
Eastern League 9 – Western League 7
Bottom of the 6th:
That cushion doesn’t last long, as the Western All-stars quickly load the bases against Embro’s John Palm. Heung-su Park leads off with a single, Bart Warwick reaches safely on an error (E4) and Javier Serrano draws a full-count walk with nobody out.
Juan Sánchez is then hit by a pitch and Otton Overbeek draws a second full-count walk to force in the tying runs.
After Ryan Borden replaces John Palm on the mound, Wen-huan Liu flies out to deep centerfield, scoring Serrano and giving the Western League the lead for the first time.
Eastern League 9 – Western League 10
Top of the 9th:
With one out against Wolseley’s Ian Peter, Tzu-yu Song, Jorge Arredondo and Aaron Skidmore punch out back-to-back-to-back singles, driving in a run to knot up the game at 10-apiece.
Eastern League 10 – Western League 10
Bottom of the 9th:
Facing Brunswick’s Matthew Monroe, rookie John Peterkin leads off and beats out the throw at 1B to eke out a first-pitch infield single. Heung-su Park follows with a single as well, putting runners on the corners. That sets up Hespeler’s Bart Warwick as the hometown hero, as Warwick pushes a 2-2 single through the hole into shallow left field, scoring Peterkin for the winning run.
FINAL: Eastern League 10 – Western League 11
In the end, 22 of the 24 pitchers selected to the All-Star Game see game action and Brunswick’s Stuart Bentham is voted as the Game’s MVP despite the Eastern All-Stars coming up just short.
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Here are the complete All-Star rosters:
