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The 2009 NECBL All-Star Game was the 16th exhibition game between all-stars from the NECBL's East and West Divisions. The game was held at Mackenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Massachusetts, the home field of the West Division's Holyoke Blue Sox. The West Division won the game by a final score of 6-5 in front of a record All-Star Game attendance of 4,906. This mark broke the previous record mark of 4,210 set at the 2007 All-Star Game hosted by the North Adams SteepleCats. Holyoke's Jake Rosenbeck was named All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. The contest was broadcast with live audio and video online provided by Teamline. The game was announced online by Keene's Shawn Medeiros (West Division) and Newport's Nicholas Lima (East Division) on the NECBL Broadcast Network.
Contents
60 Yard Dash
The 60 yard dash competition consisted of five contestants, each running two 60-yard heats on the outfield grass. The top two runners advanced to a head-to-head final in which the competitors ran simultaneously to decide the champion.
The two fastest preliminary round heats were recorded by Danbury's Sean Harrell (6.63) and Sanford's Adam Matthews (6.67). In the head-to-head final Matthews defeated Harrell with a winning time of 6.72 seconds.
Outfield
In the outfield throwing competition, competing players threw two baseballs each from right field to home plate, at a marked distance of 250 feet. The competitors were judged on their throwing strength and accuracy by several Major League Baseball scouts in attendance. The top two competitors advanced to a final round consisting of one throw per player.
In the preliminary round, Manchester's Ted Sendek and Keene's Peter Verdin were judged as the best throwers in the competition and advanced to the final round. In this round, Verdin defeated Sendek to win the outfield throwing contest.
Infield
In the infield throwing competition, competitors threw two baseballs each from the shortstop position to first base. The ball was slowly rolled to the players from the infield grass. Players were judged by attending scouts on their arm strength and the accuracy of their throws. The top two competitors advanced to a final round consisting of another two throws to decide a champion.
Pittsfield's Zach Williams and North Adams' Brandon Macias advanced to the final round, where Macias defeated Williams to win the competition.
Catcher
In the catcher throwing competition, competitors threw three baseballs from behind home plate to the second base bag. Players were judged by attending scouts on the strength and accuracy of their throws. The top two competitors in the preliminary rounds advanced to a final of two throws by each player.
Manchester's Mike Bourdon and Vermont's Jayson Hernandez advanced from the preliminary rounds to the final round. Hernandez defeated Bourdon to win the competition.
Home Run Derby
In the Home Run Derby, each of the thirteen competitors was given 5 outs to hit as many home runs as possible. Outs consisted of any swing by the batter which did not result in a home run. The top two home run hitters of the preliminary round advanced to a final round also consisting of five outs per hitter. In the competition, left-handed hitters were aided by a favorable wind blowing out to right field, making it easier for balls pulled by left-handed hitters to reach the fence. Marked dimensions at Mackenzie Stadium were 327 feet down the left and right field lines and 377 feet to straight-away center field.
Keene's Jacob Rogers and Holyoke's Murray Watts were the top hitters of the preliminary round, each hitting two home runs each. Rogers defeated Watts 2-1 in the final to win the Home Run Derby title.
Game summary
After the conclusion of the skills competition, each team took live batting practice on the field. After this, the grounds crew prepped the field as the pregame ceremonies began at 6:30. After the rosters were announced, the players took the field for a 7:00 gametime.
After West Division starting pitcher Tim Boyce (North Adams) worked a scoreless top of the first, the West scored the game's first run when Jake Rosenbeck (Holyoke) grounded into a double play. This scored Henry Dunn (Vermont), who had doubled to lead off the inning, to make the score 1-0.
The East quickly answered in the top of the second off of pitcher Tommy Meagher (Keene). After a Ben Waldrip (North Shore) single and a walk by Patrick Brady (North Shore), Kyle Felix (Lowell) singled in Waldrip to tie the score at one. Mark Micowski (Sanford) later reached on a fielder's choice to put the East ahead 2-1.
The West All-Stars responded in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Jake Rosenbeck which scored Henry Dunn to tie the score at two. However, the East retook the lead in the top of the fourth on a Dave Gustafson (Lowell) single which scored Aaron Westlake (Newport). The lead was extended to 4-2 when Taylor Featherston (New Bedford) singled in Gustafson.
The West got a run back in the bottom half of the fourth when a Taylor Featherston error on a Clay Jones (Vermont) grounder allowed Mike Fabiaschi (Danbury) to score.
After a scoreless top of the fifth pitched by Brach Davis (North Adams), the West scored three times in the bottom of the inning. After loading the bases on a single and two walks, Mike Fabiaschi hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Jake Rosenbeck and tie the game at four. The next batter, Brandon Macias (North Adams), gave the West the lead with a two-out, two RBI single to right field, scoring John Schultz (North Adams) and Chris Edmondson (Keene) to give the West a 6-4 lead.
Although the East was able to pull back one run in the eighth on an RBI groundout by Dylan Pratt (Sanford), the West prevailed 6-5. After giving up four runs in the first four innings, the West Division’s pitching staff allowed only one run over the final five frames, with an inning each from Brach Davis, Rob Kumbatovic (Vermont), Robert Young (Pittsfield), Austin Evans (Vermont), and Ricky Rogers (Keene).