St. Cloud Rox infielder Otto Kemp is named Star of Stars by going 2 for 4 with a home run
Rochester, Minn. – The two-day event in Mankato began on Monday with the Northwoods League Home Run Challenge which was won in dramatic form in the last frame by Matt Higgins (Bellarmine) of the Mankato MoonDogs. Higgins hit nine home runs in the bottom half of the ninth inning to give the Plains the win. Griffin Doersching (Northern Kentucky) of the Lakeshore Chinooks won the individual portion of the challenge with 13 home runs.
On Tuesday, the day began with the All-Star Banquet which featured guest speaker Tony Oliva of the Minnesota Twins. The players then took to the field for an afternoon workout in front of Major League scouts before preparing for the game that night.
After a ceremonial first pitch thrown by Minnesota Vikings receiver Adam Thielen, both teams would go scoreless in the first frame. In the bottom of the second inning Garret McGowan (Pittsburg State) of the Waterloo Bucks singled home Caleb Ricketts (University of San Diego) from St. Cloud for the first run of the game. Kamron Willman (Kansas State) of the Bismarck Larks singled later in the inning, driving in Garrett McGowan for the second run for the Plains. The Plains tacked on single runs in the third through sixth innings with Otto Kemp (Point Loma Nazarene) hitting a homerun to right in the sixth inning.
After getting a run in the fourth inning the Lakes were held scoreless until the 9th inning when they mounted a comeback putting two runs on the board. Kenosha Kingfish outfielder McKay Barney (Washington University) singled scoring Kokomo Jackrabbit Chase Meidroth (San Diego) and a single from Dock Spider Chandler Simpson (Alabama at Birmingham) scored Woodchuck Kevin Kilpatrick (Central Florida CC). That was all the Lakes could muster as Kevin Davis (South Carolina Upstate) of the Rox was able to strikeout Jackson Loftin (Oral Roberts) of the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders to end the game.
