BELLINGHAM — With a dramatic flourish in the ninth inning, the North topped the South 3-2 in Wednesday night’s West Coast League All-Star Game.
Gavyn Jones (Kelowna Falcons) was the North’s hero in the bottom of the ninth inning, rapping a two-out, two-strike, bases-loaded grounder that South shortstop Ty Yukumoto (Corvallis Knights) couldn’t quite corral in time to keep the tying and winning run from scoring, despite a close play at the plate.
Port Angeles representative Jeremy Giesegh was the North squad’s leadoff hitter and went 2-for-3 with a fifth-inning double. Giesegh’s extra-base hit came with catcher Conner Smith on first base, Smith advanced to third on the play.
Nobody scored until the top of the third, when Dylan Schlaegel (Cowlitz Black Bears) plated Kedren Kinzie (Springfield Drifters) with a sacrifice fly. The South threatened further, but Adison Mattix (Nanaimo NightOwls) escaped a bases-loaded jam with a big strikeout. In the fifth inning, Easton Amundsen (Bend Elks) drew a bases-loaded walk to add another run for the South, but again the North held the damage to just one run.
Which ultimately was all the South would get, as they finished the contest with only four hits. Meanwhile, the North halved the South lead in the seventh inning on Jacob Poturnak’s (Edmonton Riverhawks) RBI single. Which set up the dramatic ninth inning, highlighted by Gavyn Jones’s walk-off hit.
After the game, pitchers Nic Peterson (Bellingham Bells) and James DeCremer (Corvallis Knights) were selected by scouts as the All-Star Game’s top prospects.
Davis Mauzy (Walla Walla Sweets) earned the first-ever Guts & Grit Award, and Nanaimo NightOwls slugger Wylie Waters, who reached base three times while playing the whole game at first base, garnered MVP honors.
All four award winners were presented with customized Axe Bats.
The return of the WCL All-Star Game, played for the first time since 2019, aired across the globe on MLB Network, MLB.TV, MLB.com, and the MLB App.
2018 at Port Angeles – North 10, South 6
Attendance: 3,478
MVP: Kyle Schimpf (Southeastern Louisiana) of Port Angeles Lefties and Cesar Lopez (Cal Poly Pomona) of Walla Walla Sweets
Top Prospect: Zach Penrod (Northwest Nazarene) of the Walla Walla Sweets, Jeremy Yelland (Hawaii) of the Wenatchee AppleSox and Bradley Gonzales (Dallas Baptist) of the Bend Elks.
HR Derby Winner: Ron Brown (Houston) of the Port Angeles Lefties
2019 at Bend – North 14, South 1
Attendance: 2,284
MVP: Jack Machtolf (Gonzaga) of the Bellingham Bells
Top Prospect: Brooks Lee (Cal Poly) of the Corvallis Knights
HR Derby Winner: Matthew Christian (Campbell) of the Port Angeles Lefties
