This year's All-Star Game took on a different form as compared
to those we have witnessed in the past, as two players were made
captains, and the captains chose the teams, made the lineups, and
did everything that the coaches would have done otherwise. Drew
wound up on the "Away" team, giving them first at-bats. Since the
kids all knew each other and had placed their stuff in one dugout
(they didn't know what team they were on until warm-ups were over),
the two sides ended up sharing a dugout the entire game. Overall it
was a very relaxed atmosphere, and the kids had a great time no
matter which side of the scoreboard they were on at the end of the
game. Drew
faced off against a teammate in the first inning, crushing one ball
towards the fence, but it landed foul. He went on to strike out, but
was grinning as his friend had gotten the best of him. For his first
inning in the field, he played third base. He did OK, though a
throwing error eventually led to a run. He didn't get to bat in the
second inning, but moved to first while he was in the field. He made
a couple of plays here, being credited with two outs. The third
inning was more of the same, except this time he moved to center
field, where he saw no action. It was the fourth inning that Drew
brought the big fireworks to the game, launching a deep home run
that cleared the left field fence, as well as the road behind it. He
received congratulations and high-fives all around the base paths,
from kids on both teams and even the umpire. Unfortunately there was
nobody on base, and that was the only run the team could muster, as
they found themselves trailing by a 7-3 score. Drew also made a play
in center field in this inning, as he ran to position to snag a fly
ball that could have led to extra bases for the opposition. Drew
didn't see the plate in the fifth inning, though his team was able
to narrow the gap further to a 7-5 score. He moved to left field on
defense, but didn't see any action while there. Drew returned to the
batters box once again in the sixth, driving another ball deep but
foul. He eventually drove one through the outfield gap for a double,
before stealing third base and then coming home to score on a
teammates hit. That would be the only run of the inning for the Away
team, but it made the score 7-6. A little bit of defense and a big
seventh inning could give them the win! Unfortunately, the defense
part let the team down, as the Home team went on to score 9 runs in
the bottom of the inning. The teams were preparing to play one last
inning, but lightning in the area ended any home of an Away team
comeback, with the final score 17-6. |