LITTLE FALLS—The stars of the ABCCL were on full display at the grand stage of Yogi Berra
Stadium as the best of the North Division took on the best of the Shore.

In typical fashion for an All-Star Game, there were many substitutions on both sides with every
player on each roster getting a chance to showcase their skills. Even against the best pitching
the league has to offer, there was no shortage of offense in a game that was competitive from
start to finish.

After Shore starter Robert Jeans faced the minimum in a scoreless top of the first inning, their
offense would get things started quickly in the bottom half of the inning. With the first two
batters on base and one out, NJ Elite’s Jacob Ramirez cranked a two RBI double into the right-
center field gap to put the Shore on the board.

The Shore All-Stars would hold the lead for a few innings, passing the ball off to a new wing
every inning. Jake Umans and Matt Ostroman each threw a scoreless inning apiece before the
North would even the contest in the top of the fourth inning.

In the second time around the order for the North starters, Matt Storch started things off with a
single up the middle immediately followed by a double from CJ Tomalavage into left-center
field. A misplay by the left fielder on the hit allowed Storch to score from first, giving
Tomalavage an RBI and cutting the Shore lead in half. A few batters later, Tomalavage scored
on a fielder’s choice to even the score.

The North would find themselves in another deficit in the bottom of the fourth, but they would
string together runs over the next two innings to take the lead.

In the fifth inning it was Storch’s second of three hits on the night, an RBI double into the right-
center gap, that tied things up. Following a perfect Max Oliver inning where he struck out two,
the North regained the lead in the next frame on a strange inning where Joe Brong, playing left
field, dropped two fly balls on consecutive chances to allow the go-ahead run to score to make
it 4-3.

The back-and-forth nature of the game continued beyond the seventh inning stretch, where the
Shore All-Stars would pull back in front. Justin Guest led off the inning with a hard-hit grounder
that bounced off the cleat of 3 rd baseman Zach Revuelta and allowed Guest to advance to
second base. North All-Stars pitcher Greg Verano retired the next two batters, but another
misplay by Revuelta brought the tying run in on a bad throw.

Substituting as the second baseman for the Shore earlier in the game, Dylan Palmer made a late
case for the All-Star Game MVP as his go-ahead RBI double to the right field wall proved the
North’s mistakes more costly. Palmer would have had a triple on the play with his speed, but
unfortunately for him he tripped rounding second base and had to scramble back to the base.

However, the very next frame would be where the North took back momentum, and the lead,
for good. Both squads had gone blow for blow up until the eighth inning, where the North All-
Stars would deliver their haymaker of a five-run explosion to go up 9-5.

Nick Bergamotto evened the score once again with an RBI single after a double and a walk from
Vincent Mele and Connor Wengryn. After two more runs scored on an error to give the Shore a
7-5 lead, RJ Menhert capped off the huge inning with a towering two-run bomb to left field.
Menhert, who competed in the Homerun Derby earlier in the day and had the most homers by
anyone in one round, cemented himself as one of the biggest power threats in the league with
his blast.

In the ninth, Dylan Palmer threw a scoreless inning but surrendered a base hit to Matt Storch,
who locked up his case for the game’s MVP award with three hits plus one run batted in and
run scored.

The Shore lineup made a rally in the bottom of the ninth, getting the tying run 90 feet away
after a Ryan Duffy two-RBI double and Palmer’s RBI single. North reliever Ryan Spies got himself
out of the mess by forcing a strikeout and a flyout to squeak out the 9-8 victory for his team.

“This game is going to help me build some more momentum moving past the All-Star break,”
said Storch in the postgame. “I feel pretty good.”

A day full of fun, excitement, and drama will surely serve as a preview of what’s left to come for
the remainder of the ABCCL season.