Their bats unleashed by the unlimited home run rule, the Hailey Coed Softball League All-Stars went on a hitting rampage Wednesday night during the league’s annual All-Star game at Hailey’s LionsPark.
No lead was safe during the 50-run, 60-hit slugfest that matched the Red All-Stars and Blue All-Stars—the teams formed in a draw by league commissioner Mike Beall prior to the nine-inning contest.
The Red All-Stars, unperturbed by falling behind 8-0 and 15-8 in the first three innings, made up ground in their final five at-bats and won the merry-go-round by a score of 29-21. Nine different players powered 17 home runs Wednesday night.
Certainly the unofficial Most Valuable Players for the Red All-Stars were shortstop Kenny Nelson from the Cups and Bras squad and extra hitter Brandy O’Grady of Hailey Hotel.
Nelson (5-for-5, 4 runs, 7 RBI) clouted a two-out, grand slam homer in Red’s 7-run fourth inning that tied the game 15-15. He finished with three homers for the game, as did Matt Zachary and T.J. Peterson of Blue.
In the field, Nelson stayed with a wicked bad-hop ground ball by Blue’s Anthony Rooney and turned a 6-4-3 double play with second baseman Jeff Schroeder to stop a Blue threat in the visitor fifth. Subdued, Blue tallied only five runs on 10 hits the rest of the game.
O’Grady (3-for-4, 3 runs, 3 RBI) came to play and ended her evening with a pair of crisply struck doubles and a two-run single. She and Red All-Stars left fielder Anna Edwards of 7 Dog/ESS (3 hits, double) helped fuel the 33-hit Red All-Stars attack that outscored Blue 21-6 in the final five frames of the 90-minute game.
The Red All-Stars artillery picked up steam just as the Blues ran out of hitting gas.
Prior to Nelson’s grand slam, lanky righthander slugger Schroeder of Sawtooth Paint (4-for-4, 4 runs, 6 RBI) scorched a twisting line drive to left field that contained so much action that it caromed off outfielder Matt Zachary’s glove and skipped over the fence for a three-run dinger. Schroeder added a two-run homer in his next at-bat as Red pulled ahead for good 20-16 after five frames.
Red pitcher Joe LaManna of 7 Dog (4-for-5, 4 runs, 5 RBI), relatively quiet from the leadoff spot with a pair of singles in his first three at-bats, ripped a two-out solo homer in the fifth and added a two-out, three-run round tripper in the seventh.
And Red center fielder Ryan Stavros of Cups and Bras (4-for-5, 3 runs), who caught the final three Blue All-Stars outs in the ninth, ended a productive night with a two-run homer for the Red’s 29th run in the eighth.
Other Red All-Star hitters included Jeff Burrell of Sawtooth Paint (3-for-5, 2-run HR), Ben Bainbridge of Power Engineers (4-for-5, 3 runs, 3 doubles) and Bonnie Burrell of Sawtooth Paint (2 hits, 2 runs).
No slouches at the plate, Blue All-Stars belted 27 hits topped by lefty T.J. Peterson of 7 Dog (4-for-5, 3 runs, 7 RBI, 3 HR), Bryan Burrell of Sawtooth Paint (3-for-4, 3 runs, 3-run HR, 5 RBI) and Matt Zachary of Mahoney’s (3-for-5, 3 runs, 4 RBI, 3 HR). Peterson and Zachary belted moon-shots that the big crowd watched admiringly.
Other Blue hitters included:
Anthony Anderson of Cups and Bras (3-for-5, 3 runs, solo HR), Jamie Stone of Power (2 hits), Lisa Vadalma of 7 Dog (3 hits), Anthony Rooney of Peterson Farms (2 doubles, 2 runs), Alex Lindbloom of Cups and Bras (2 hits) and pitcher Mike Beall of Peterson Farms (2 hits, 2 runs).
The league tournament is scheduled for Aug. 12-14.
Blue All-Stars catcher Sarah Meyers bangs out a hit during Wednesday’s 29-21 Red All-Stars win over the Blue squad at Hailey’s Lions Park. Photo by David N. Seelig
