East Upends West, Takes 2022 FL All-Star Game
WASHINGTON, Pa. (July 20) – Washington, Pennsylvania played host to the 21st Frontier League All-Star Game at Wild Things Park on Wednesday night. The Washington Wild Things welcomed the best players from the league for the third time in franchise history and the first since 2013. Nine Wild Things were represented for the West, but the East all-stars stole the show, winning 8-1.
Rob Whalen of the home West Division started opposite the East’s Miguel Cienfuegos from Quebec with both pitching scoreless first innings.
Representing Tri-City, Pavin Parks delivered the game’s first run with a solo home run to lead off the top of the third inning for the East Division. The homer began a run of four-consecutive innings of runs crossing the plate.
A one-out double by Justin Wylie of New Jersey set the East up to score for the second-straight inning after only recording one hit through the first three. Wylie’s Jackals teammate Dalton Combs singled and put runners on the corners. Wylie came around to score on a passed ball by Washington catcher Alex Alvarez to double the advantage 2-0.
The East continued their scoring streak and put up a crooked number against lefty Cole Cook of Joliet in the top of the fifth, batting around and scoring five runs. Parks began the frame with a single and moved to third on a double by Martin Figueroa of Sussex County. Parks scored one batter later on an RBI groundout by New Jersey’s Josh Rehwaldt and flipped the score to 3-0.
Juan Kelly of Trois-Rivieres was hit by a pitch before Ottawa’s Jake Sanford delivered a bloop single that fell in between Washington’s Nick Ward and Gateway’s Isaac Benard. Wylie followed with an RBI base hit of his own to make the score 5-0. The East added on thanks to two passed balls from Alvarez, one bringing in a run. David Vinsky of the New York Boulders drove in the final run of the inning with a two-out single and extended the lead to a further lopsided 7-0 score.
Following the East’s big inning, the West responded with its only run of the ball game. Alberti Chavez of the Florence Y’alls led off the bottom half with a pinch-hit single, followed by a single by Gateway’s Isaac Benard. With two on and no one out, Washington’s Ian Walters singled in his first at-bat to score the first run for the West and cut the deficit to 7-1.
The East Division got the run allowed right back in the top of the sixth. Tri-City’s Brad Zunica doubled in his first trip to the plate and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch. Managed by Quebec’s Pat Scalabrini, the East padded their lead to 8-1 against Washington manager Tom Vaeth and the West.
The East collected 11 total hits while the West tallied eight. There were no errors recorded in the All-Star Game in front of a crowd of 3,748 fans. Tri-City shortstop Pavin Parks was named All-Star Game MVP finishing 2-for-3 with a single, solo home run, and two runs scored.
Frontier League play resumes on Friday concluding All-Star festivities to begin the second half of the 2022 season.
