Stars Come Out At Pullman
League all-star games give kids the chance to showcase their talent on a bigger stage, while being recognized for their past accomplishments.
The Butler County Area Baseball League held its all-star game Monday night as the National team defeated the American team 14-3 at Michelle Krill Field at Historic Pullman Park.
“The point is for the kids to have fun and take a break from the long season,” American team coach Joe Hotalski said. “The weather hasn't been good with all the makeup games and it's just good to come out and compete and have fun.”
Cody Schnur helped give the National team a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first with a two-run single, while Dylan Kingan drove in Schnur with a sacrifice fly.
The National team added runs in the next three frames to extend its lead to 8-1 through four innings.
“We hit the ball really well,” National team coach Larry Stelitano said. “Pretty good defense too, but the pitching was solid, we shut them down, jumped on them and they never recovered.”
Hotalski explained that with not a lot of familiarity, some decisions by the coaches tend to be harder than others.
“Baseball is universal,” Hotalski said. “But sometimes because you don't know everybody's strengths, you might not know if someone is fast enough to steal, or what someone's arm is like. You just got to put the kids out there and have fun.”
In the sixth, the National team added two runs, with four more in the bottom of the eighth, but the American team showed signs of life late in the ninth with four hits that resulted in two runs.
At that point the damage was done, as the National team took home the 11-run victory.“There were a couple lapses on defense,” Stelitano said. “But for the most part, we turned three double plays which always helps you out.”Although only pitching one inning, Evan Schneider got the win on the mound for the National team, while Lance Cotton took the loss with no strikeouts and two walks.Brody Lineman went 2-for-3 with a single and a double for the American team, while Sammy Baic went 2-for-4 with a single and a double that came up just a few feet short of a home run for the National squad.American 000 100 002 — 3 10 3National 312 202 04x — 14 16 1W: Evan Schneider 1IP (0K, 0BB). L: Lance Cotton 1IP (0K, 2BB).American: Brody Lineman 1B 2B, Joseph Hotalski 1B, Trevor Gahagan 1B, Tyler Yough 1B 2B, Kyle Weiser 2B 1B, Mike Shoemaker 2-1BNational: Sammy Baic 1B 2B, Dylan Kingan 1B, Cody Schnur 2-1B, John Piroch 2-1B, Elijah White 1B, Connor Kirby 1B, Colby Anderson 1B, Alex Scalone 1B, Hunter Green 2-1B, Thomas Connell 2-1B, Shane Waryck 1B
