Jared Walker's HR helps East All Stars, who win 3-2 in extra innings at 2018 MWL All Star Game

 

Great Lakes Loons infielder Jared Walker crushed a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the East a 2-0 lead, before Dayton Dragons first baseman Montrell Marshall hit a walk-off RBI-single in the bottom of the tenth, giving the East a 3-2 victory in front of 9,396 fans at the 2018 Midwest League All Star Game at Cooley Law School Stadium in Lansing, MI Tuesday night.

 

Following Walker's HR in the bottom of the fifth, the West scored a run in the top of the sixth when Burlington Bees infielder Julio Garcia drove in Peoria Chiefs first baseman Yariel Gonzalez with an RBI-double to make it a 2-1 game, before Cedar Rapids Kernels outfielder Alex Krilloff drove in Gonzalez with an RBI-single in the top of the eighth to tie the game at 2-runs apiece, eventually forcing extra innings, where Marshall ended the game with his heroic hit.

 

Adhering to the new rules for extra inning games throughout minor league baseball, the West started the top of the tenth inning with Quad Cities River Bandits outfielder Bryan De La Cruz (who was the final out in the ninth) on second base, however, East closer John Ghyzel (from the Dayton Dragons) struck out one, then forced a ground-out and a pop-out to get out of the inning; while Dayton Dragons' outfielder Stuart Fairchild (who had made the final out in the ninth inning) was placed on second base to start the bottom of the tenth inning, which led to Marshall's heroic walk off hit to score Fairchild. 

 

Ghyzel was perfect, not allowing a single base runner, while earning the win for the East with 2-strikeouts through 1 1/3 innings.

 

Loons reliever Andre Scrubb retired the only batter he faced throughout his 1/3 of an inning for the East.

 

The East had jumped out to an early lead when Lansing Lugnuts second baseman Kevin Vicuna led off the first inning with a double, then was driven in on an RBI-single by Bowling Green Hot Rods infielder Taylor Walls for a 1-0 East lead in the bottom of the first inning, leading up to Walkers solo HR in the bottom of the fifth.

 

Walker finished 1 for 2 with the solo HR for the East, while Marshall took home the MVP honors for his walk-off hit. 

 

The Loons will now prepare for a fresh second half start to the MWL season, kicking off a 4-game road series against the Lansing Lugnuts at 7:05 pm right back here at Cooley Law School Stadium in Lansing, MI tomorrow night..