MONDAY, July 21—It was a summer night celebration in which the best of the best took the field to participate in ABL’s annual Hoboken Coed Softball All-Star Game. Even though it is an exhibition game, it is an honor for a player to be voted on, to wear the uniform, and to showcase their talents. It's the one game where rivals become teammates as they laugh and joke with one another, but still compete at the highest level to achieve victory. The 2014 All-Star Game surpassed all expectations as players continue to amaze, giving not only the crowd but also themselves a game for the ages.
The intensity of this game arrived almost instantly. Team managers had to pinch themselves to make sure they weren’t dreaming as they looked up and down each roster noticing how stacked each team was with future ABL Hall of Fame players. The action started right off the bat with both the West (Comp Division) and East (Rec Division) putting up two runs apiece in the 1st inning of play. Louise & Jerry’s Angel Romano hit a 2 run homerun for the West in the top of the 1st inning and finished the game going 2 for 2 with 2 homeruns and 3 RBIs. The East countered putting together four hits in a row as both Angry Leprechauns Jon Polonitza & Kara Giannecchini had RBI singles and finished the game with a combined 5 RBIs.
Both Matt Tobia (Pourhouse Sliders) and Dan Clark (McSwiggans Pub) demonstrated their raw power as they both went yard for the Western All-Star team. The West used their brute strength when scoring, as 6 of the 7 RBIs scored in the game were off of homeruns. The East’s defense made it hard for the West to extend any type of hit in the outfield due to the arms of Rob Lennon (Farkle) and Jon Polonitza (Angry Leps). Rob first dazzled the crowd with an awesome over the shoulder grab in deep center to steal a batter of a hit. Later in the game he made a great catch and throw to 3rd base to get the runner out tagging. His teammate Jon saved a run as he made bullet of a throw from left field to get the runner out going to home plate.
The West continued the defensive trend keeping the East to a short hitting game. The East finished the game with 18 hits, but only one of the hits was for extra bases. The East scored by having multiple hit innings but there were times the West was able to capitalize when just hitting singles. The left side of the infield for the West was played by teammates Allison Twarowski and Dan Clark, who both play for the team McSwiggans Pub. Allie caught a line drive on the 3rd base line and doubled the runner going back to first. Shortstop Dan Clark had a great grab in stride for an unassisted double play.
The game was in the 8th inning and remained tied 6 to 6 thanks to East’s 3rd baseman Matt Pizzolato (Brews). Matt lived up to the all-star title by catching a foul ball while hitting into the fence leaving a runner on 3rd with 2 outs. With the pressure on for both teams as the game was reaching an end, West all-star Jason Gurtman (Tribe) stepped up to the plate. As much as Jason was enjoying the all-star festivities, he didn’t want to make the game any longer than it needed to be. Jason hit a double in the gap scoring the winning run. The West All-Star team defeated the East All-Star team 7 to 6.
ABL is lucky enough to have a pool of talent from the participating players to host an incredible All-Star game. All of the players in the league, not just the voted all-stars are what makes the league what it is today. The competition is only getting better, and ABL would like to thank everyone for their participation.
Tag(s): Home Leagues '15 Coed Spring League
