North Defeats South in the 50th FSL All-Star Game
By Aaron Somers
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSL South All-Stars | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | |
| FSL North All-Stars | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | x | 5 | 10 | 0 |
Box
W: May (5-4, 3.50) L: Moviel (4-6, 5.12)
S: Etheridge (24)
HR: South: Baker, A (9)
Saturday evening the Florida State League held it’s 50th All-Star Game at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fl. With the weekend off, I had the opportunity to make the two hour drive to the beautiful stadium. The North defeated the South 5-3 in a two and a half hour contest.
The Stadium:
Bright House Field is by far the nicest stadium I’ve been to in the FSL. For $8 we were able to purchase front row seats at
Frenchy’s Tiki Terrace in left-field. There is something about watching baseball, sitting at a bar located next to a bullpen. It was definitely the first time i’ve ever watched pitchers warm up and ordered a beer at the same time. There was no shortage of beer either; in addition to Frenchy’s a nearby pub offered over 50 different brands of beer! The food selection, quality and prices were all amazing too. If you ever find yourself in Florida during baseball season I highly recommend making the trip! The state of the art facility is second to none.
The Derby:
In an earlier post I broke down the 2011 Yuengling Home Run Derby that took place prior to the game. In short, with just one out remaining Daytona Cubs first baseman Justin Bour defeated Brad Glenn of the Dunedin Blue Jays.
The Game:
Phillies prospect Jonathan Pettibone needed just 13 pitches to retire the south squad in the first inning. The first inning was not as uneventful for Mets prospect Darin Gorski though. Gorski labored a bit, surrendering 2 hits and two runs in his inning of work. Perhaps the biggest cheers of the night came when Gorski surrendered an inside the park two-run home run to Blue Jays catcher AJ Jiminez. The ball caromed awkwardly off the wall and Mets center fielder Den Dekker struggled with both the play and the throw. Jiminez was only given credit for a triple but the play was difficult and I believe it was a home run.
Aaron got the best of Aaron when Marauders first baseman Aaron Baker crushed a two-run home run off of Cubs pitcher Aaron Kurcz. The shot tied the game at two.
Other highlights include the performance from Daytona Cubs catcher Michael Brenly who was 2-2 with an RBI. Blue Jays top prospect Deck McGuire struck out the side on 28 pitches. The Norths pitching continued to dominate throughout the evening. Flying Tigers closer Kenny Faulk needed just 11 pitches to strikeout the side in the eighth inning. The 23 year-old southpaw continues to keep the ball in the park and post respectable strikeout and walk ratios. It’s beyond me why Faulk hasn’t received much hype this season.
Cubs closer Frank Batista entered the game with a 5-2 lead. Batista was chased though after surrendering two hits and run in 2/3 of an inning. Blue Jays closer Wes Etheridge needed just two pitches though to shut the door as the North held on to defeat the South 5-3.
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