Bears’ Castro MVP As Freedom Defeats Liberty

By Brian Bohl on July 17, 2008

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Dave LaPoint wasn’t sparing any of his own players for the late stages of the Atlantic League’s 11th All-Star game last night. The Ducks manager, selected to skipper the Liberty Division squad, tabbed Randy Leek as the starter and brought in Joe Valentine to relieve him in the third inning.

Ray Navarrete started at second and Jamie Pogue got the nod at catcher, though the pair of Ducks pitchers were each tagged for two runs as the Sparky Lyle-lead Freedom Division held on for an 8-6 victory in front an All-Star record crowd of 8,290 at Commerce Bank Ballpark.

Leek allowed a leadoff single to Lancaster’s Michael Woods before Newark’s Ramon Castro drilled an opposite-field homer to rightfield. Castro’s blast was the first of his pair of two-run home runs, earning the Bears’ shortstop the game MVP for the Freedom Division.

“Everybody got in the game and everybody played and showed their wares to the scouts,” said LaPoint, who used all 22 players on the roster. “The fans had a good to show to watch, so that’s what we’re here for.”

Leek settled down and left after two innings down 2-0. It was another honor for the southpaw. The Levittown native was also selected to start Opening Day, giving him two honors in a four-month span.

Valentine, the Ducks closer, entered in the unfamiliar situation of the third inning. He allowed two runs but none of them were earned after Pogue couldn’t handle a third strike pitch, allowing Somerset’s Brandon Larson to reach first and eventually score on Newark’s Jose Herrera.

“I’m sure they [Leek and Valentine would have liked to have done better, but All-Star games are different,” LaPoint said. “Joe’s pitching the third inning instead of the ninth. Who knows if he’s mentally ready for that. But everybody had a good day.”

Pogue atoned for his mistake, registering an RBI groundout in the Liberty Division’s four-run fourth inning. His shot to third was gloved on a nice scoop by Matt Hagen, but he still turned a four-run deficit into a tie game with the productive out and took teammate Leek off the hook for the loss.

“It was a whole lot of fun,” Pogue said. “You come here with the expectation of just going out there relaxed and try and enjoy the game. You try and slow it down as much as you can and take as much in as you can. I had a lot of family and friends able to come and watch. It was extremely enjoyable.”

Castro ensured the Freedom Division went back on top on the bottom of the fourth. Southern Maryland right-hander Ryan Bicondoa relieved Valentine before walking Woods. That set up Castro’s second blast, handing Bicondoa the loss.

No Duck was in the game after the sixth inning. Navarrete finished 0-3 but wowed the crowd before the contest in the home run derby. The All-Star second baseman advanced to the championship round and blasted eight home runs in total.

“It’s always a great opportunity to be able to be in the same clubhouse with the other guys you are admiring through the season,” said Navarrete about sharing a dugout with the best players from Bridgeport, Southern Maryland and Camden. “You don’t get a chance to talk to them or hang out with them as much. I was really lucky to be a part of it.”

Pogue said making the trip to New Jersey instead of taking the full four days offs was a sacrifice worth making. Even after catching five innings and giving way to Adam Shorsher, Pogue still kept busy by warming up Liberty Division pitchers in the bullpen.

“I like to play all the time, so the way they do it, we still have three days off,” Pogue said. “There are only a few guys tonight that had to play nine innings anyway. To go over four days and have to catch half a game, that’s not going to wear me down. It was just awesome.”

Sitting in his familiar home dugout, Lyle trotted out Newark’s Patrick Stanley to start for the Freedom Division. As the Somerset manager, Lyle previously watched his team face off against the righty ace, who struck out 15 Lancaster batters in a game in May.

Stanley was dominating in his two innings last night, striking out three while not allowing a base-runner. In a statically oddity, Lancaster’s Eric Ackerman picked up the victory despite giving up four runs and five hits in his one inning of work, the product of Castro’s well-time homer in the bottom of the fourth when Ackerman was technically still the Freedom Division’s pitcher.

Herrera, Castro’s teammate with the Bears, added another RBI single. The two teammates played all nine innings in front of the 22 major league scouts in attendance.

“An All-Star Game is about rising to the occasion,” Lyle said.

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