West defeats East in 2006 Aflac game
- 08-12-2006
- By Tom Shanahan, San Diego Hall of Champions
The sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the San Diego sky. Pitchers were throwing in the 90s. Hitters, swinging wood bats, were connecting for extra bases anyway. Scouts aimed their speed guns and took plenty of notes.
What wasn’t there to like about the fourth annual Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic played in San Diego?
The West defeated the East 9-8 on Saturday at San Diego State’s Tony Gwynn Stadium in the first Aflac game played in the West. The East vs. West game matches the top 38 juniors (seniors in the fall) in the nation.
“This was a first-class event and Aflac worked hard to make this the best event they can,” said West coach Dennis Pugh from San Diego’s Mission Bay High. “I was happy with the way the kids got along. I was really impressed with the way they hit with wood bats. But you know really impressed me was Reggie Jackson. He had a great message for the kids. He told them they are elite athletes and not to act like jerks.”
Jackson, the honorary chairman for the 2006 Aflac game, presented the MVP award to West shortstop Christian Colon of Canyon High in Anaheim Hills. He had two singles in three official at bats and was hit by two pitches. He scored three runs and stole three bases.
San Diego’s two representatives, Francis Parker shortstop Nick Noonan and Mission Bay outfielder Sequoyah Stonecipher, both started.
Noonan started at second base and had a single, two walks and a popout to shortstop.
“It was a lot of fun,” Noonan said. “Everyone at Aflac treated us really well. A lot of people came out and supported us and the hometown crowd treated us well.”
Stonecipher started in center field, singled and scored a run and struck out three times.
“I wish I would have played better, but it was a fun week,” Stonecipher said. “We went to the hospital (Rady’s Children’s Hospital), we went to Sea World and I was able to hang around with my baseball friends.”
Stonecipher said he was “too pumped up” on his strikeouts, but he wasn’t alone as other all-stars committed errors along with wild pitches and passed balls.
“I was a little too excited, swinging at balls,” he said. “I wasn’t relaxed enough, but I was happy to get that one hit.”
Both teams started off with shaky pitching from East starter Michael Main and West starter Robert Stock.
The East jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning despite Robert Stock striking out the side. Shortstop Justin Jackson started the inning with a walk, outfielder Jason Heyward doubled to score Jackson and catcher Danny Rams singled to score Heyward.
The West took a 4-2 lead in the bottom half of the first. Infielder Christian Colon singled and advanced to third on an error of an infield blooper hit by first baseman Freddie Freeman. Colon scored on a wild pitch and then third baseman Josh Vitters doubled to score Freeman, infielder Jon Gilmore doubled to score Vitters and outfielder Brett Krill tripled to score Gilmore.
The East got a run back to trim the West’s lead to 4-3 in the top of the second inning when third baseman Derek Dietrich hit a ground-rule double and scored on a single outfielder Steven Brooks.
The West pushed its lead to 5-3 in the bottom of the second with a single by Christian Colon. He stole second base and later stole home on a double steal that nailed outfielder Kevin Keyes trying to steal second after a walk.
The West extended its lead to 6-3 in the bottom of the fifth when Sequoyah Stonecipher singled with one out. On a high-chopping groundout, he rounded second and raced to third. The throw to get him was wide for error and he came home to score.
The East got a run back in the top of the sixth to make it 6-4 when Michael Main got on base on a ground-ball error, stole second base, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on another wild pitch on which Derek Dietrich struck out swinging.
The West’s Robert Stock, taking a page from Negro Leagues legend Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe (so named because he would pitch the first game of a double-header and catch the second game), switched to catcher after pitching the first inning and hit a solo home run by to lead off the bottom of the sixth for a 7-4 lead. Vitters made it 8-4 when he scored after a double. Vitters was attempting to steal third when the throw was over the third baseman’s head into left field.
The East answered once again with two runs in the top of the seventh to make it an 8-6 game. Kentrail Davis reached first on a walk and stole second. He appeared to be stranded after the next two batters struck out, but Justin Heyward singled to center to score Davis and Main doubled to left to score Heyward.
The West’s Christian Colon stole his third base and scored his third run for a 9-6 lead in the bottom of the seventh. He was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a stolen base and continued to third when the throw went into center field. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Freddie Freeman.
In the top of the eighth, the East’s John Tolisano hit a home run to left field to trim the deficit to 9-7. The East added another run, this time without the ball leaving the infield to trail 9-8. Kentrail Davis beat out an infield single, went to second on a passed ball, stole third and came home on a passed ball.
The West’s Erik Goeddel came on to close out the game for the save in the ninth inning. He gave up a walk to Jason Heyward to open the innings. Heyward stole two bases to advance to third, but he was stranded when Goeddel ended the inning with a popup and two strikeouts.
Tom Shanahan can be contacted at 619-699-2334 or toms@sdhoc.om
