Wednesday, July 13, 2089
Glory Hallelujah, the 89th IPA All-Star Game was a game for the ages. It was a crowd-pleasing seesaw shootout finally won by the Ruthlandian All-Stars 11 to 9 at Musketeer Field in Belle Plaine. Rookie shortstop Howie Dassner (Valmara) tripled in the winning scores in the last of the 8th and was voted the game's Most Valuable Player. The RU Stars cracked 17 hits in the high-scoring clash, sparked by Dassner, Jim Raver (Forest City) and Slug Sasek (Far Mountain) with 2 RBIs apiece. Gavin Foxton (Colfax) chimed in with 3 hits and a pair of ribbies. Tycobbia collected 11 hits in defeat, paced by Norris Chance (Summerland) with 2 hits and 3 runs batted in. The RU Stars won for the third time in four years, but they still trail miserably in the overall series 56-33.
It was a fierce battle, beginning to end. Ruthlandia jumped out to a 5-1 lead after 3 frames. However the TU Stars tied it up 5-5 with 4 runs in the 4th, highlighted by Norris Chance's (Summerland) 3-run roundtripper. Not to be outdone, the RU All-Stars regained the lead 7-5 in the 5th on Gavin Foxton's (Colfax) double and a base hit by Jim Raver (Forest City). That l ead did not last long. The TU Stars knotted it up again 7-7 in the 6th on Davy Mannington's (South Fork) single and a sacrifice fly by Banger Barnhlll (Ozarka). Tycobbia continued to roll with 2 more scores in the 7th inning, going ahead 9-7 on Calvin Mannon's (Hartsdale) 2-run two-bagger. Ruthlandia's Slug Sasek lived up to his name and slugged a 2-run shot in the 7th, tying it up again for third time heading into the fatal 8th when Dassner (Valmara) doused the hopes of the TU All-Stars with his game-winning three-bagger, driving in Glen Chatsworth (Marston) and Clete Ward (Forest City) .
Three homers were sent soaring out of the park. Yank Yankovich (South Fork) banged one in the 4th and Norris Chance (Summerland) got his in the 4th for the TU Stars. Slug Sasek (Far Mountain) hammered the only homer for the winning RU Stars.
Closer Orval Columbus (Belair Beach) nabbed the victory with a perfect 8th frame, while Dario Lemos (Arroyo Grande) was tagged with the defeat. Lemos had a lousy 8th inning, slammed for 2 runs and 3 hits, culminated by Dassner's (Valmara) game-winning double.
