Centre County baseball defeated by Huntingdon in all-star game

The few defeated the many at Governors Park in Bellefonte on June 18.

Nine all-stars from the Huntingdon City League took on 17 of the best players the Centre County League had to offer, and when the dust settled, strength in numbers turned out not to be the case, as the athletes from Huntingdon downed the local squad, 16-1, in the annual local all-star game.

The first inning passed quietly despite a couple of Huntingdon players making it to the base paths. In the second inning, Huntingdon’s pitcher, Tyler Lalli, singled to right field, driving in the first two runs of the ball game.

Centre County replied in the bottom of the second when Trent Fortney hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring starting pitcher and left fielder Tyler Womer.

The game calmed down again until the top of the sixth inning, when the flood gates opened. Huntingdon City scored five runs in the sixth and another nine in the seventh to finish the game.

Lalli was key in Huntingdon’s victory. His stat line at the end of the game included five RBIs and a run, alongside a complete game on the mound, giving up just one earned run.

Huntingdon right fielder Rhett Stefchock and center fielder John Martinez both put on a show as well. Stefchock drove in four runs and crossed the plate twice, while Martinez had three RBIs and scored three times.

Eight of the nine players for Huntingdon had at least one RBI or run, with seven tallying at least one of each.

Despite the score, there are no hard feelings between the two leagues, according to Centre County All-Stars team captain and third baseman Brian Kochik.

“(The plan) was just to have fun. It’s the all-star game,” said Kochik. “The main thing was to not get hurt; we have the rest of the year to go. It’s just nice to get together and talk, play ball.

‘Usually, we’re ‘enemies,’ but it’s just nice to talk to the (other league players). More or less, we just have a fun, beautiful day.”

Now that the all-star game is over, the Centre County Baseball League continues with the second half of the schedule. Players who played together for one game go back to being opponents as they race for the league championship.

Playing on the all-star team has brought Kochik and the other players across the league closer together.

“It’s a nice experience,” said Kochik. “When I got pulled, I looked around and saw all of the different team hats and it’s cool for the whole league to get together. It’s nice to talk to the guys, see how life’s going and stuff like that.”

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