By Matthew Atkins

The members of the All-RCBL team have been announced for the 2018 season. Members of the media met earlier this week to vote on the team, which was revealed on Saturday morning’s episode of the Play Ball show on ESPN 106.9 and 1360 WHBG.
 
Bridgewater and Clover Hill lead the way with four players from each team being honored. Bridgewater has four position players on the team while Clover Hill has three pitchers and one position player.
 
This year’s team features four players who were honored last season as well: Tyler Bocock, Drew Easter, Ryan Cooper and Corey Armentrout.
 
A number of statistical leaders were named to this year’s All-RCBL team. Home run leader Keegan Woolford made the team as a designated hitter. Nick Goode was named as an outfielder and currently leads the league with a .470 batting average  with one game left in the season.
 
Regular season strikeout leader Kris Lalk and ERA leader Kevin Chandler were each named to the team as pitchers. Lalk tied the Pointstreak-era record of 87 strikeouts in a season for the Elkton Blue Sox this year.
 
Rookie Dan Fry was named to the team in his first season in the RCBL. Fry finished the season batting .316 with four home runs and 26 RBIs. Joining him is veteran Kevin Rush, who batted .292 with 14 RBIs in what is likely his final season.  

Stuarts Draft veteran Ryan Cooper was named as a utility player after batting .416 with one home run and 16 RBIs for the Dbacks this season. Cooper’s main position is first base, but he also saw time at every infield position and outfield this season.

EMU product Kyle Mathews made the team as an outfielder, batting .378 with six home runs and 20 RBIs on the season. Mathews leads the Montezuma Braves in nearly every offensive category this season.

Below is the full list of players named to the 2018 All-RCBL team.
 
Catcher: Tyler Mahone, Bridgewater
First Baseman: Brian Bocock, Bridgewater
Second Baseman: Josh Wright, Bridgewater
Shortstop: Tyler Bocock, Bridgewater
Third Baseman: Kevin Rush, Broadway
Outfielder: Kyle Mathews, Montezuma
Outfielder: Nick Goode, New Market
Outfielder: Dan Fry, Broadway
Outfielder: Drew Easter, Clover Hill
Utility: Ryan Cooper, Stuarts Draft
Designated Hitter: Keegan Woolford, Grottoes
Pitcher: Corey Armentrout, Clover Hill
Pitcher: Kevin Chandler, Clover Hill
Pitcher: Kris Lalk, Elkton
Pitcher: Eric Yankey, Clover Hill

By Nick Stevens

MONTEZUMA - The New Market Shockers had one goal Thursday night in Montezuma, win the game and clinch the #2 seed in this year’s RCBL playoffs. Unfortunately for New Market and their fans, the Montezuma Braves decided to play the role of spoiler, defeating the Shockers 3-0.
 
Colin Benner took the mound for New Market, tossing seven innings of three-hit ball. He gave up just one earned run and two walks while striking out seven, completing a quality start and an impressive performance on the mound.
 
Unfortunately, his offense mustered just six hits, spread out over nine innings against the Montezuma duo of Brendon Salladay (7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 0 K) and Brandon Lambert (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K).
 
The Braves broke a scoreless game in the third inning with Zach Roberts drawing a bases loaded walk, followed by a sacrifice fly by Montezuma cleanup hitter, Kyle Mathews.
 
Mathews would later drive in his second RBI of the game and 20th of the season on a single in the sixth inning, scoring Roberts and giving the Braves a 3-0 lead.
 
With the loss, New Market now finds themselves tied with Grottoes for first place in the Eastern Division with just one more night left in the RCBL regular season (those words hurt to type).
 
*Insert dramatic music here* It all comes down to this, maybe. Every single team is in action tonight with New Market taking on the Bridgewater Reds at Ray Heatwole Field, while Grottoes battles the Clover Hill Bucks at home.
 
If either New Market or Grottoes wins and the other team loses, the winner will lock up the Eastern Division and the #2 seed. If both teams win or lose, the East Division title comes down to head-to-head matchups during the regular season, where New Market has a 3-1 advantage.
 
Grab your lawn chairs and find a ballfield. The 2018 RCBL regular season is going away quietly. 

By Matthew Atkins

Updated July 26 at 4:57 p.m.

The end of the 2018 regular season is shaping up to be just like the beginning. Games that were originally scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday have been pushed back two days due to rain coming through the area this week.
 
Tonight’s schedule features two games around the league. Elkton travels to Bridgewater for an interdivisional matchup with the Reds. The New Market Shockers will play the Montezuma Braves at Montezuma Ruritan Field, although the Shockers will serve as the home team in the contest. 
​
Friday will see four games played on the last day of the regular season. Elkton will be on the road again as the Blue Sox take on the Diamondbacks at the Diamond Club in Stuarts Draft. Broadway will close out the season with a matchup against the Braves in Montezuma. New Market and Bridgewater will face each other at Ray Heatwole Field in their last game of the season.
 
The Grottoes Cardinals play host to the Clover Hill Bucks at 7:30 on Friday night in a critical matchup for the Cardinals. Tonight is Grottoes’ last game of the regular season and the Cards are just half a game behind New Market in the East Division.
 
The Cardinals need to win tonight’s game and need the Shockers to lose their next two games in order to win the division. If the two teams are tied in the standings when the season ends, the division champion will be decided by head-to-head performance during the regular season. New Market leads Grottoes three games to one in the regular season series.
 
With the final games of the season being pushed back, the playoff schedule has been changed as well. As of right now, the playoffs will begin on Sunday, July 29. The first round is a best of three series that will be played on consecutive nights.
 
Clover Hill has already clinched the one-seed in the playoffs and the Bucks will take on the Braves in the first round. The rest of the playoff matchups will be determined following the conclusion of the regular season.
 
With two games left in the season, Elkton, Stuarts Draft, Bridgewater and Broadway all have chances to improve their playoff seeding.
 
The 2018 All-RCBL team will be announced this Saturday, July 28 on the Play Ball show on ESPN 106.9 and 1360 WHBG. Karl Magenhofer and Mike Bocock will announce the players at each position who have been named to the All-RCBL team for their performance during the 2018 season.
 
Saturday morning’s show will be broadcast live from the Hall of Fame Sports Grill at 2264 Clover Hill Road in Dayton. 

By Nick Stevens

CLOVER HILL - The Clover Hill Bucks have clinched the top seed in the 2018 RCBL playoffs. The Bucks earned the top seed in prime fashion on Sunday night, throwing a combined shutout over the Eastern Division-leading New Market Shockers, winning 9-0.
 
Corey Armentrout put in his best performance of the season, tossing eight innings of shutout baseball. He gave up just two hits and one walk while striking out 11 hitters, using his overpowering fastball and an unhittable changeup that routinely fell out of the zone and away from hitters.
 
Clover Hill fans were treated to some more good news last night, watching RHP Kevin Chandler return to the mound to pitch a scoreless ninth inning to close out the game. Chandler lasted less than an inning in his last start against Grottoes, before being taken out of the game. Despite taking a line-drive to his non-throwing hand, Chandler appeared healthy again.
 
It was a quick-moving contest early on as both teams settled into the game. That was until the third inning when the Clover Hill offense erupted for five runs.
 
Cody Warner recorded an RBI-single, followed by a line-drive two-run double by Luke Shifflett. The final run came off a solo home run by Clover Hill 1B Danny Grogg. His deep drive landed over the mini-green monster in left field at Buck Bowman Park.
 
The Bucks racked up 11 hits on the night and struck out just three times. No one needed Statcast data to see the barrels and big-time exit velocities produced by the Clover Hill offense on Sunday evening.
 
The hardest hit ball of the night may have been Josh Eberly’s pinch-hit two-run double late in the contest. The right-handed hitter was sitting fastball, saw it, and ripped it down the third base line, scoring Matt Larson and Tanner Moyers to continue the late-game offensive output for Clover Hill.
 
Clover Hill will finish their regular season at Grottoes on Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, New Market still has two games on the schedule and is in a dog fight for the Eastern Division title with Grottoes. They return to action on Tuesday at Montezuma and finish the season on Wednesday at Bridgewater. 

By Nick Stevens 

ELKTON - Friday night, the Grottoes Cardinals fell one run shy of completing a ninth-inning comeback against the Clover Hill Bucks. On Saturday night, the Cardinals completed the job.
 
On an uncharacteristically cold night in Elkton, the Cardinals defeated the Blue Sox, 8-3, after scoring five runs in the top of the ninth inning. With their win, Grottoes remains just one game behind New Market in the race for the East, with just a few more days remaining in the regular season.
 
The story of the night was St. Bonaventure RHP Josh Pittman. Coming off back-to-back performances against Clover Hill and Bridgewater in which he was hit hard and often, Pittman gave up just four hits and two earned runs across seven innings.
 
His counterpart, potential RCBL Pitcher of the Year Kris Lalk, went 8.2 innings, striking out 10 hitters in the process. Unfortunately, four errors behind him ultimately cost his team the game. Lalk now sits at 87 strikeouts in 52.2 innings.
 
Brady Cockerham relieved Pittman in the eighth inning, putting in another high quality performance. Cockerham struck out four across two innings, refusing to allow a hit or a walk. He has very quietly put up 2-0 record and 1.39 ERA in seven relief outings this summer.
 
As for the offense, Grottoes took a two-run lead into the bottom of the fifth, after an RBI-single by Ray Tricarico and Keegan Woolford’s ninth home run of the season.
 
JJ Loker’s two-run double in the bottom of the seventh gave Elkton a 3-2 lead, until the ninth inning.
 
Dan Scott led the inning with a HBP, followed by a Logan Grimm single, and an error on a Jacob Merica ground ball. With no outs and the bases loaded, the Cardinals went to work.
 
Keegan Woolford drew a bases loaded walk, Dylan Nicely recorded an RBI-single, and Eli Lam drew a walk, giving the Cardinals a 5-3 lead with just one out.
 
Two more runs would come across on a Jacob Zoller single, finalizing the Cardinals’ rally.
 
Tonight, weather pending, New Market and Elkton have big matchups against Western Division foes, Clover Hill and Bridgewater, respectively. Both games will have a big impact on Grottoes and their standing in the Eastern Division.
 
Grottoes has just one game left on their schedule, a must-win against the Clover Hill Bucks at home on Tuesday, July 24th. 

Clover Hill 8, Montezuma 3

The Clover Hill Bucks scored four runs in the first inning to take an early lead on the way to an 8-3 win over Montezuma on Saturday. Clover Hill added one more run in the third, two in the fifth and one in the eighth to complete the victory.

Bucks' starter Tanner Moyers didn't allow any base runners through the first four and a third innings. Moyers finished the night with six innings pitched, allowing just one run on four hits and striking out six batters. 

Clover Hill catcher Cody Warner finished the night 3-for-4 with two runs scored and five RBIs. Warner hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning that scored Blake Sipe. 

The Bucks improve to 20-5 on the season with the win. The Bucks have a 2.5 game lead over the Bridgewater Reds with two games left in the season. Their next matchup comes tonight against New Market at Buck Bowman Park. 

New Market 11, Stuarts Draft 10

The Shockers were the first to get on the board last night on their way to a win over Stuarts Draft. A home run from Josh Tayman brought home Chase Smallwood to give the Shockers an early lead.

New Market put six more runs on the board during the fourth inning, which started with a RBI hit from Nolan Potts and an error made by Staurts Draft that brought home Joseph Rutherford.

Chase Smallwood walked to first bringing home teammate Billy Quinn, making the score 4-0. Ty Michau brought home Smallwood, Potts, and Gavin Rush with an RBI later in the inning.

Josh Tayman hit a sacrifice fly and brought home Michaud as the Shockers finished the fourth inning leading 8-0.

The Diamondbacks answered back by bringing home four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Ryan Cooper started the four runs with a double that brought home Tyler Wilcher and Zach Brown, which made the score 8-2.

The Shockers scored one run in the sixth and two in the seventh to make the score 11-4.

The Diamondbacks answered back in the eighth and ninth, but couldn’t get past the Shockers, making the final score 11-10.

The Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks will play again against the Elkton Blue Sox on July 25 at the Diamond Club. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
​
The New Market Shockers will play again tonight against the Clover Hill Bucks at Buck Bowman Park.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

By Matthew Atkins

NEW MARKET - The RCBL’s East Division has a new leader going into the final week of the season. New Market hosted Grottoes on Wednesday night, defeating the Cardinals 6-5 to move into first place in the East.
 
The game was every bit as dramatic as a battle for first place should be, with multi-run innings, late-game comebacks, and an extra-inning walk-off victory by the home team Shockers.
 
New Market took a one-run lead off an RBI single by Ty Michaud in the second inning, but a five-run fifth inning by the Cardinals gave them a big lead going forward. Adam Dofflemyer, Jacob Merica, Keegan Woolford, Dylan Nicely and Eli Lam all came around to score in the fifth as the Cardinals started to pull away.
 
New Market slowly chipped away at the lead by sending Trenton Burgreen across the plate in the sixth and Nick Goode in the seventh.
 
Trailing by two runs going into the bottom of the ninth, the top of the Shockers order came up to the plate. Joseph Rutherford walked with one out before Goode drove him home with an RBI triple. Goode came around to score in the inning to tie it up and send the game to extras.
 
Grottoes wasn’t able to get anything going in the 10th and 11th innings and the top of the Shockers order came back to the plate to lead off the 11th. After the first two batters got out, Goode singled on a full count to keep the Shockers’ hopes alive late in the evening.
 
Pat Wingfield stepped up to the plate with Goode on first, hoping to close out the game for New Market. The former UVA infielder drove a fly ball into right field, where it bounced in and out of Ray Tricarico’s glove and allowed Goode to score, winning the game for New Market.
 
It took him a couple of tries, though. As he was heading home down the third base line, Goode dove too early and ended up a few feet in front of home plate. He got up and made another attempt, this time touching home plate and sending the Shockers home victorious.
 
“[Coach Rush] said 'You gotta get on your horse' and I caught my feet and tried to barrel roll to the plate,” Goode said about his scoring play. “It was terrible but hey, we won, so who cares?”

Goode’s efforts earned him a Gatorade shower from his teammates, which he enjoyed despite the cool weather in New Market last night.
 
“It felt pretty good after a W,” Goode said. “It felt like old times. I played in the Valley League last summer and that’s what we used to do. That’s what it feels like now, we’re getting excited, so it’s awesome.”
 
Goode finished the night 3-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI. He also came just a home run short of hitting for the cycle. The centerfielder out of Shenandoah University had some key at bats for the Shockers and he said he felt confident in every one.
 
“I knew we had a great pitcher with Benner on the mound who was going to keep us in the game,” Goode said. “Keeping it at five runs, I knew we could just chip away. Just keep putting in good at bats, that’s all that matters with the team.”
 
With the win over Grottoes and Elkton’s loss at Montezuma last night, New Market sits alone on top of the East Division at 10-14. The Shockers have four more games to finish out the season, only one of which is against an East Division team.
 
New Market’s next matchup comes on Saturday night as the Shockers head to Stuarts Draft to take on the Diamondbacks. That game will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Diamond Club. 

By Matthew Atkins

ELKTON - Derek Shifflett put his name in the history books on Thursday night. The Bridgewater pitcher threw a seven-inning no-hitter as the Reds defeated Elkton 13-0 by slaughter rule at Stonewall Memorial Park.
 
“It feels great,” Shifflett said about his performance. “When your team gets on top in the first two innings and gives you four, five, or whatever we had, it’s a little bit more relaxing.”

The Reds gave Shifflett plenty of run support, scoring five runs over the first two innings. Bridgewater added five more runs in the fourth, allowing Shifflett to really settle in on the mound.
 
“I just get a little more relaxed,” Shifflett said about finding his groove later in the game. “Like I said, when we have hitters like we have, you don’t really stress that much. When they get on top like that, you know you have plenty of padding, so you’re just out there competing and throwing.”
 
The former JMU pitcher struck out seven batters over the final three innings of the game, and 12 total on the night. He struck out the side in the fifth and sixth innings.
 
Shifflett allowed one walk on the night, allowing JJ Loker to reach in the bottom of the first inning. From that point on, Shifflett was locked in and no Elkton batter reached base the rest of the game.
 
Shifflett said that some of his teammates told him during the game that he had a no-hitter going, which made issuing the one walk just a bit more upsetting.
 
“A couple of the guys had said something,” Shifflett said. “I get a little competitive so when the one walk happened I was a little frustrated, but yeah I knew it was somewhere in there. When the teammates come up and say something it feels pretty good.”
 
Shifflett is now 2-0 on the season and leads the Reds in strikeouts with 27. He lowered his ERA from 5.71 to 4.07 with his performance on Thursday.  
 
The Reds had just as good a performance on the offensive side as well. Bridgewater put up 13 runs on 12 hits against the Blue Sox. Andrew Armstrong finished the night 3-for-3 with a run scored and two driven in.
 
Brian Bocock also had three hits on the night and came around to score once.
 
Tyler Mahone, Josh Wright and Corbin Lucas each came across the plate multiple times in the victory, with Mahone and Lucas scoring three times.
 
The Reds improve to 14-5 with the victory and trail Clover Hill by just one game in the Western Division standings. The Reds next game comes tonight as they host Grottoes at Ray Heatwole Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
 
Montezuma 6, New Market 4
 
Home runs by Kyle Matthews and Brett Jones led the Braves to a 6-4 victory over the Shockers at Rebel Field on Thursday. Matthews finished the night 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three more driven in as the Braves picked up their first victory since June 28
 
Head coach Ronnie Brunk had high praise for the entire team following the win.
 
“We had some good hitting as well, the home runs, finally hitting the ball hard at the plate,” Brunk said about his team’s offensive performance. “Having Ryan Kiser back tonight was big. I think he had three hits tonight. Kyle Matthews has been great. Brett Jones has been hitting the ball well and Brandon Lambert getting on at the top. Zach Roberts is a good hitter.”

Kiser returned to the lineup for the first time this season after getting injured during his college season. The first baseman finished the night 2-for-4 with an RBI.
 
The Braves had some solid pitching to help them out as well. Starter Jordan Yankey threw five innings, giving up three runs on six hits. Yankey struck out four batters in his outing.
 
Reliever Koice Quintinilla came on to the mound for the first time this season and pitched four solid innings. Quintinilla struck out four batters while allowing just one run on four hits to pick up the save.
 
“Yankey, I had told him, let’s go try to get me through two or three,” Brunk said. “Koice hadn’t pitched in this league ever. Jordan gutted through it and got people out and then Koice threw really well.”
 
With the win, the Braves improve to 4-16 on the season. Montezuma has a tough road in the West to finish out the season, but Coach Brunk was happy with his team’s performance last night.
 
“The defense was good tonight too,” Brunk said. “Everybody did their job tonight.” 
 
Montezuma's next matchup comes Saturday night as the Braves head to Bridgewater to face the Reds at Ray Heatwole Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

By Matthew Atkins

ELKTON - Elkton’s Kris Lalk has been a dominant pitcher all season long for the Blue Sox and currently  leads the RCBL in strikeouts. Sunday night’s performance was on a different level, though, as Lalk struck out 16 batters on the way to earning a 6-1 win over New Market.
 
The Shockers visited Elkton in a battle for first place in the Eastern Division at Stonewall Memorial Park. The 6’7” Lalk took the mound to face one of the hottest offenses in the league and quickly set the tone for Sunday’s game.
 
“I was just going to work,” Lalk said about his performance. “Just trying to hit my spots and they were aggressive swingers so that kind of helped me out. I liked the umpiring. They called the outside corners so I kept hitting it.”
 
Lalk struck out two batters in the top of the first before striking out the side in the second and third innings. He struck out at least two batters in six of his eight innings on Sunday night. The Colorado native allowed just one run on six hits and set a new season-high for strikeouts in a single game.
 
Lalk now has 65 strikeouts on the season, 25 more than the next-leading pitcher in the league.    
 
The first-year pitcher earned his first win of the season as the Blue Sox were able to back their starter with six runs. Elkton scored one run each in the fourth and sixth innings before putting the game away with a four-run eighth inning.
 
Catcher Cameron Stanley started the scoring with a solo home run to right-centerfield in the bottom of the fourth to put Elkton on top 1-0. Stanley finished the night 1-for-3 with two RBIs as he drove in Lee Carneal on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth.
 
JJ Loker drove in three runs to start Elkton’s eighth-inning rally, bringing home Chris Smith, Lee Carneal and Connor Lilley with an RBI double. Loker came around to score on a passed ball later in the inning.
 
With the win, Elkton improves to 7-9 and is tied with Grottoes for first place in the Eastern Division. New Market falls to 7-10, half a game behind the Cardinals and Blue Sox.
 
Elkton has now won four of its last six games and two in a row. The Blue Sox have surged recently after a rough start to the season, but Lalk says they have their work cut out for them if they want to keep the momentum going.
 
“We’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Lalk said. “We’ve still got a lot of games coming up and if we have a chance we’re going to have to really bear down and get the offense because pitching is going to be tough down the stretch.”
 
The Blue Sox’ next matchup comes Tuesday night as they travel to Bridgewater. It will be the first matchup between the teams, who have been rained out twice this season. Tuesday’s game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. 

In other RCBL news:

Grottoes 11, Bridgewater 10

GROTTOES - The Cardinals picked up a win over the Bridgewater Reds to stay on top of the Eastern Division standings. 

Bridgewater led 10-4 late in the game, but a three-run eighth and a four-run ninth gave Grottoes the win.

Ty Lam pitched the final 3.1 innings, giving up two runs on three hits. Keegan Woolford finished the night 4-for-5 with four runs scored and two RBIs. Woolford hit his league-leading sixth home run of the season in the sixth inning. 

Grottoes improves to 8-10 on the season and will be back in action Tuesday night at Broadway. ​

By Matthew Atkins

NEW MARKET - The New Market Shockers continued their streak of high-scoring games on Thursday night, defeating Elkton 13-3 in seven innings.
 
The night was full of Shockers players joking around and chatting on the field as they scored in double digits for the second straight game.
 
New Market head coach Chris Rush thinks that the jovial atmosphere of the team may has helped them in recent games.
 
“After one of the losses we had, I’m not sure which one, we got together the team before the next game and we said our play isn’t bad, but our energy is way down,” Rush said. “Your energy will affect how you play. These guy took it to heart and even the guys that aren’t playing, they’re keeping it up in the dugout, they’re cheering each other on.”
 
The lighthearted nature of the team’s play on Thursday night seemed to work as New Market pulled away from an early deficit. Elkton led 2-1 going into the bottom of the second inning, but the Shockers put up some big offensive numbers from that point on.
 
New Market scored three runs in the second, five in the fourth and four in the sixth to win the game by slaughter rule.  
 
“I think hitters just became more patient,” Coach Rush said about his team’s offensive performance. “They started waiting more for their pitch, not necessarily trying to rush things, just letting it come to them.”
 
Every batter in the Shockers’ lineup got at least one hit on the night with Nick Goode and Robbie Marcelle each knocking in three base hits. Goode finished the night 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Marcelle, who was playing just his first game with the Shockers, went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs.
 
Marcelle’s first hit in a Shockers uniform was an RBI-triple to the right field corner to help New Market take their first lead of the game.  
 
New Market starter Brett Ritter tossed seven innings, giving up three runs on six hits. Ritter struck out seven batters in the game.  
 
The Shockers and Blue Sox have been jockeying for second place in the Eastern Division, with New Market taking the position over after last night’s win. The Shockers are currently 6-9 and one game behind the first-place Grottoes Cardinals.
 
Going into tonight’s game against Montezuma, the team is feeling pretty good about where they’re at.
 
“I think just a couple things came together today and came together pretty good the last game,” Rush said. “Hopefully it carries over to tomorrow.”

The Shockers head to Montezuma to take on the Braves at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Ruritan Field. 

By Nick Stevens

CLOVER HILL - ​Clover Hill- Saturday night, Clover Hill featured a collection of the top players across the RCBL, coming together to participate in the 2018 RCBL All-Star game and Home Run Derby at historic Buck Bowman Park.
 
The night began by featuring the top sluggers in the RCBL with the 2018 Home Run Derby. Tyler Bocock (Bridgewater) led all hitters in the first round with nine home runs, however, it was Kyle Matthews of Montezuma who would eventually come out on top as the home run king. Matthews defeated Cameron Stanley (Elkton) 4-1 in the championship round to take home the crown.
 
First Round
(Bridgewater) Tyler Bocock 9               (Stuarts Draft)- Will Hass 1
(Grottoes)- Nathan Rebich 1                             (Montezuma)- Kyle Matthews 5
 
(Broadway)- Dan Fry 5                         (Clover Hill)- Danny Grogg- 2
(New Market)- Josh Taymen 0              (Elkton)- Cameron Stanley- 5
 
Second Round
Tyler Bocock-2                                                            Dan Fry- 1
Kyle Matthews 2 (Matthews 2-1 in tie break)    Cameron Stanley 2
 
Championship Round
Kyle Matthews- 4
Cameron Stanley- 1
 
Immediately after the Home Run Derby,  the 2018 All-Stars took the field at Buck Bowman Park as the Eastern Division and Western Division All-Stars battled it out, with the West ultimately coming out on top, 9-1.
 
The West came out of the gate strong, with Owen Stewart (Montezuma) and Gavin Kandrick (Broadway) hitting back-to-back singles to start the game. Stewart would later score on an error off a Tyler Bocock batted ball.
 
It was the third inning that provided the most action, as the West All-Stars brought in four runs off six hits off New Market pitcher Seth Comer. Danny Grogg, Grey Sherfy (Bridgewater), Brady Duff (Broadway), and Matt Lawson (Clover Hill) all brought in runs on singles, except for Duff who brought in a run on a bases loaded hit-by-pitch.
 
The East threatened in the fourth, but a diving stop behind second base by Tyler Bocock halted the attack after Jacob Slaughter (Elkton) doubled to lead off the inning, later brought home on a Ryan Cooper (Stuarts Draft) double off the power-line in left field.
 
In the sixth, Corbin Lucas (Bridgewater) led off with a double, coming home on a Tyler Bocock fielder’s choice. Home run derby champ Kyle Matthews (2-2, RBI, R) doubled home Bocock, coming around on an error later in the inning to put the West up 8-1.
 
It was the pitching staff of the West that dominated last night’s All-Star game. Luke Foss (Bridgewater), Tucker Garrison (Bridgewater), Bocock, and Eric Yankey (Clover Hill) all faced the minimum in their innings of work. Bocock struck out the side in his frame, producing three swinging strikeouts. Yankey continued to do what he’s done all season, produce a shut down ninth, recording two strikeouts to end the night’s festivities. The East All-Stars were limited to just five hits throughout the night.
 
Notable offensive performances included:
 
Jacob Slaughter - 3-4, 2B, run scored
 
Owen Stewart - 2-3, run scored
 
Boo Dean - 2-2
 
Grey Sherfey - 2-3, RBI, run scored, SB