North Squad Scores Three Runs In Ninth Inning To Win BCAA All-Star Game, 9-6

Fort Lauderdale’s Shelby Geisler sparked a ninth-inning rally to lead the BCAA North All-Star team to a 9-6 victory over the South squad in the BCAA Senior All-Star Game played at Pat McQuaid Field at Nova High Wednesday night.

Geisler’s one-out single in the top of the ninth helped to ignite the North’s bats, as the next four hitters also reached base. After Plantation’s Kody Jones singled and Pompano Beach’s Charlie Pal was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Geisler came in to score the decisive run on a wild pitch.

Deerfield Beach’s Drew Danner added some insurance in the next at bat when he laced a single to centerfield that scored Jones, and the North added another run when Pal also scored during the inning.

Danner finished 2-for-2 with a pair of stolen bases on the day, earning him the North MVP Award.

The South MVP Award went to Nova’s Cory Graf, who was instrumental in the South’s late comeback push.

After trailing for much of the contest, the South rallied for five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to take a 6-5 lead. West Broward’s Mike Hoeft led off with a single and Graf followed with a perfectly-executed hit-and-run single to rightfield that put runners on the corners with no outs.

Graf’s Titans teammate Skylar Fox and South Broward’s Josh James followed with RBI singles, and South Plantation’s Ben Osborne drove in another runner when he beat out the throw after hitting into an infield double-play attempt. Cooper City’s Bradley Cassidy gave the South its only lead with an RBI single that scored Osborne.

Fox was 2 for 2, the Bulldogs’ James was 2-for-3, and Stranahan’s Talib Smotherman drew a pair of walks and swiped two bases for the South.

Cardinal Gibbons’ Ryan Whaley helped the North crack the scoreboard first when he led off the top of the second with a double and then came in to score on a wild pitch. Coral Glades’ Oliver Christensen achieved a rare feat to extend that lead in the top of the third, after he walked and managed to come all the way around and score from first on a failed pickoff attempt that sent the ball sailing out of play.

The North was back at it in the fourth. After Monarch’s Mike Stokes was hit by a pitch, he stole second and then advanced to third base when Boyd Anderson’s Shamoi Hodge singled. Hodge broke for second during the next at bat, drawing a wild throw that allowed Stokes to score, and Hodge came in on a wild pitch during the following at bat.

Cardinal Gibbons’ Jimmy Noonan also scored for the North, after he doubled in the sixth and scored on an RBI single from Deerfield Beach’s Kevin Hill.

The South rallied back from an early 1-0 deficit in the bottom of the second inning when Osborne singled to drive in Hoeft, who came in as a courtesy-runner after starting pitcher Craig Kirouac (South Broward) drew a leadoff walk.

The North tied the game in the top of the eighth inning when Taravella’s Vincent Libio doubled to drive in Coral Springs’ Alex Demicco, notching the score at six apiece. Libio’s Trojans teammate Matt Robertson pitched a perfect ninth inning with a pair of strikeouts to end the game, earning the victory after he came on in the eighth inning.

Leave a comment using your facebook account!