Fireworks lit up the sky in streams of red, white and blue and balloons were let fly into the twilight as the final verse of “The Star Spangled Banner” was sung at Keyspan Park Tuesday night, kicking off the first professional all-star baseball game in Brooklyn since 1949.
And while no major leaguers took the field, the capacity crowd was treated to a well-played contest that pitted the best players the New York-Penn League (NYPL) has to offer.
In the end, the league’s first-ever all-star game saw the National League-affiliated squad defeat the American League-affiliated squad 5-4.
Cyclones right-hander Bobby Parnell was handed the ball by National League manager Tom Prince, of the Williamsport Crosscutters, and he promptly struck out two of the first three batters he faced after allowing a hard liner to center fielder and Cyclone teammate Joe Holden.
Chucking for the American Leaguers was Staten Island Yankees right hander David Seccombe, who also put the side down in order in the top of the first.
But in the second, a single by Ryan Patterson, of the Auburn Doubledays, was followed by a booming triple to dead center field by Yankee Kyle Larsen, who was booed ferociously by the Brooklyn-heavy crowd.
The Nationals first hit didn’t come until the third, when Chad Gabriel, of the New Jersey Cardinals, grounded a single up the middle with one out. He got as far as second thanks to a weak ground ball by the Vermont Expos’ Leonard Davis, but was left stranded when Wladimir Sutil, of the Tri-City Valley Cats, struck out on three pitches.
They took the lead in the fifth, batting around and scoring three runs.
It started innocently enough when, with Hudson Valley Renegade Wade Davis in for the Americans, Steven Pearce, of the Williamsport Crosscutters, singled to center. After Jamestown Jammer Jeff Van Houten struck out, Davis got a little wild, walking Clay Harris, of the Batavia Muckdogs, before Cardinal Chad Gabriel was hit by a pitch.
Davis then followed with a single to left that plated Harris, and Sutil followed with an RBI single to right. After Holden struck out on a high and outside fastball, Jammer Gabby Sanchez singled in two more runs with a liner to center, giving the Nationals a 4-1 bulge.
The Nats tacked on a run in the sixth when pinch hitter Mark Ori, of the Valley Cats, led off the inning with a single, was sacrificed to second, went to third on a single by Harris and scored on a grounder to second by the Cardinals’ Sean Danielson.
That run would turn out to be the game winner as, with Muckdog Kyle Kendrick pitching in the eighth, the American Leaguers scored three times.
Brian Bormaster, of the Doubledays, started things off with a single to left before Jed Lowrie, of the Lowell Spinners, reached on an error, the only one of the game. The Yankees’ Eduardo Nunez then singled in a run, pushing Lowrie to third, before he stole second.
Kendrick had a chance to get out of the inning without any further damage when he struck out Oneonta Tiger Justin Justice and Mahoning Valley Scrapper Jose Constanza. He had two strikes on Mark Fleishman, but the Aberdeen Ironbird rapped a single to left, scoring Lowrie. Matt Fornasiere, of the Scrappers, doubled in Nunez.
Kendrick was then replaced by Jeremey Zick, of the Cardinals, who got Garrett Groce, of the Hudson Valley Renegades, to fly to right, ending the threat.
After the National League went down 1-2-3 in the eighth, the Americans threatened again in the top of the ninth.
With Zick still on the mound, back-to-back singles by Tiger Cory Middleton and Brian Bomaster, of the Doubledays, were followed by a fly out by Lowrie and a ground out by Nunez to the pitcher, putting runners on first and third. Zick then walked Justice to load the bases, but got Constanza to bounce to short to end the game.
GAME NOTES
Cyclones who played in the game included starter Bobby Parnell, who struck out four batters over two innings of work, giving up one run on two hits. Center fielder Joe Holden also got the start, going 1-for-4 and making a great catch running toward the wall in the first inning. First baseman Josh Peterson, nursing a back injury, did not play.
Staten Island Yankees players included starting pitcher David Seccombe, who threw two scoreless innings, striking out one and not walking a batter. First baseman Kyle Larsen went 1-for-2 with a triple, scoring the first run of the game. Yankees shortstop Eduardo Nunez had an RBI-single, a stolen base and a run scored in three at bats.
August 27, 2005 issue
