VBL All-Stars Overwhelm Ripken League, 12-3

By: Bryan Portney

BETHESDA, Md. – It was a decisive victory for the Valley League All-Stars as the best of the best in Maryland and Virginia summer ball faced off for the Valley League-Cal Ripken All-Star Game.

The showcase game represented players from eight teams from the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League and 12 teams from the Valley League.

Matthew Demetree (Waynesboro) got the start for the Valley League and struck out back-to-back Cal Ripken batters on full counts to strand a runner 90 feet away from home plate in the bottom of the first.

Behind the plate to start the game was Gregory Caban (Waynesboro), who got the scoring party started for the Valley League in the top of the second with a leadoff solo home run that cleared the 330-foot fence in right field.

Valley League manager Mike Gulino (Waynesboro) coached Caban during the spring at Florida SouthWestern State and kept seeing his development with the Generals.

"The guy's just a ball player," said Gulino. "He loves this game, and he wants to be here."

Whether it was on a foul ball, a lineout, a home run, or a hard grounder through the diving defense, the crack of the bat was the highlighting factor for both sides today.

The Cal Ripken Sr. All-Stars were quick to fight back in the home half of the second, scoring three runs on five hits to take a 3-to-1 lead.

The host team used hard contact with back-to-back hot ground-ball singles through the first-base side to lead off the frame. It was a two-RBI double to left by Andrew Duncan that secured the lone lead of the day for the squad.

The Valley League had some early missed opportunities outside of the solo shot from Caban, as the team went 0-for-6 with runners on through the first four innings.

All of a sudden, the Valley League caught fire in the top of the fifth when James Green (Front Royal) pushed a ball into shallow left to cut the deficit to one. The squad recorded three-straight hits to start the inning.

Nicholas Dromboski (Front Royal) drove in his Cardinal teammate and gave the Valley League the lead on a two-run single past the diving Cal Ripken second baseman for a 4-3 game.

Dromboski won the game's Most Outstanding Player, having gone 2-for-2 with four RBIs and a walk.

"It's all the hard work, on and off the field, that you put in," said Dromboski regarding what it means to be selected to represent the Valley League. "But, at the end of the day, it's just a game, and the most important thing is to have fun."

The onslaught for the Valley League All-Stars was not over, as the squad tacked on five runs with four hits in the top of the sixth. Each of the first six batters reached base for them in the frame.

Before the inning began, the squads combined for two walks through five. The Valley League put the free pass shortage to bed with back-to-back walks to lead off.

A hard-hit RBI single to left for Elijah Guilliams (Harrisonburg) gave the Valley League a two-run cushion.

Connor Worth (Woodstock) went up the middle for a single to extend the lead to 6-to-3. Worth had two singles and a stolen base in the contest.

After another RBI single for Green, Dromboski pulled a hard line-drive double into right to score two more for a 9-to-3 lead.

10 Valley League batters came to the plate in the frame, and they rode that momentum into the home half of the sixth with a 1-2-3 inning on the mound.

The pitching staff issued seven shutout innings in the showcase game, which helped the offense score 11 unanswered runs after trailing through two. Outside of the second inning, Cal Ripken Sr. All Stars went 0-for-12 with runners on.

"All these guys are obviously very talented, being at the All-Star Game," said Gulino. "So, just come out here, let them do things and compete, and see what happens from there."

Brandon Dahlman (Charlottesville), the league leader in strikeouts, did what he does best by punching out two Cal Ripken batters to lead off the bottom of the seventh.

In the top of the eighth, Shintaro Inoue (Purcellville) gave the pitching staff some more run support with a ground-rule double to left that drove in the team's 10th run.

Sam Brown (Strasburg) put the punctuation mark on a stellar offensive performance for the Valley League in the top of the ninth with a two-run home run to right that secured the 12-3 victory.

It was the first win for the Valley League All-Stars over the Cal Ripken Sr. All-Stars, using 15 hits to aid them.

"Hitting's contagious," said Gulino. "So, once one happens and we can keep it rolling, [the offense will] be good from there."