HARRISONBURG, Va. — LSU first baseman Will Harris went 3-for-3 with three RBI to lead the Southern Division over the Northern Division, 7-4, in the 2003 Valley League All Star Game. Harris, who plays for the Staunton Braves, was named the Southern Division’s Most Valuable Player.
Harris broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the sixth inning with an RBI single off Front Royal’s Chris Merchant (Mars Hill) to score Harrisonburg’s David Marlett (Oklahoma City). Marlett was hit by a pitch leading off the inning and advanced to third on Harrisonburg teammate Jeff Van Houten’s (Arizona) single to the right-center gap. Van Houten was thrown out at second by Luray’s Brandon Pope (Savannah State) trying to stretch the hit into a double.
Covington’s Gerardo Verastegui gave the South a three-run lead later in the sixth with a two-run home run off Merchant in his only at bat of the game.
Merchant surrendered three earned runs on three hits in the frame and was tagged with the loss.
After Harrisonburg’s Cliff Pennington (Texas A&M) doubled in a run in the seventh, Harris broke the game open with a two-run single up the middle off Luray’s Peter Dean (Washington & Lee) scoring Pennington and Waynesboro’s Barney Quick (Eastern Mennonite), who reached on a single and advanced to third on Pennington’s double.
Trailing 7-1, the North rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI double by Front Royal’s Eric Schmook (West Virginia Wesleyan) and a pair of RBI singles by New Market teammates Brett Gardner (College of Charleston) and Mike Fryrear (North Florida) to cut the deficit to 7-4.
Gardner went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI to earn M.V.P honors for the Northern Division.
Waynesboro’s Justin Ramsey (Oral Roberts), who struck out two and retired the side in order in the fifth inning, was credited with the win.
Covington’s Craig Bartosh (Oklahoma State) worked a scoreless ninth to earn the save.
Staunton’s Erick San Pedro (Miami) went 1-for-3 with an RBI, and Bartosh went 1-for-3 with a run scored at the plate for the South.
Luray’s Donnie Burkhalter (Seminole Community College) went 1-for-1, walked and stole a base, and Front Royal’s Nate Gravely (Carson Newman) had an RBI single in his only at bat for the North.