The second inning proved to be the difference in the Shoreland League's 6-4 All-Star game victory over the Door County League Thursday night at Joannes Stadium in Green Bay.
Nearly perfect conditions and the host Green Bay Blue Ribbons welcome the best-of-the-best from the two summer leagues, which also featured several players that star in both.
Door County kicked off the scoring in the bottom of the first when Egg Harbor's Cody Giesseman doubled home Kolberg's Nick LeCaptain to make it 1-0. The Shoreland League rebounded after 1-2-3 first inning against Maplewood's Jeremiah Janke by sending 11 batters to the plate, collecting five of their six runs and five of their seven hits in the frame. Kewaunee's Joe Anderson and Josh LaFleur of Ashwaubenon singled home runs to start the rally and Ashwaubenon's Trevor Cornell drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 3-1. Branch's August Hecker delivered the innings biggest blow with a two-run double to give the Shoreland All-Stars a 5-1 advantage that the Door County All-Stars would chase the rest of the night.
Door County's pitchers, which included Kolberg's Jake Schneider, Baileys Harbor's Jon Kordon, Sister Bay's Matt Hecht, Washington Island's Matt Foss, and Egg Harbor's Joe Sawyer kept things in check during the middle innings, allowing just one hit and three total baserunners between the third and eighth innings. Door County cut into the lead in the fifth inning thanks to a double steal that brought home Egg Harbor's Corey Fuller and West Jacksonport's Kyle Volkmann singling home Nick Kita to make it 5-3. They would get it to a one-run game in the eighth inning when Washington Island's Ben Geiger drove in his teammate Luke Geiger, only to see Algoma's Austen Dart hurt his DCL counterparts with an RBI single to give the game its final margin.
The two teams have split their All-Star game matchups since welcoming the tradition back after a hiatus last year.
