Sports Writer

TROY-The Dixie Minor All-Star game may not have been as hyped as the Major League All-Star game, but it may have been just as entertaining.

The American All-Star team put up 38 runs in the two games, defeating the National squad 19-6 in five innings in game one and 19-3 in four innings in the nightcap Tuesday at Franklin Park.

And just like the MLB All-Star game, stars were abundant in the two games.

Cody Barron, Jabori Cole, Gregory Davis, Alex Golden, Zachary Hall, Ethan Harris, Dustin Leverett, Mitch McLeod, Bernard Paul, Arquavious Scott, Wes Sullivan, Blake Thomas, Jacobian Upshaw, Wyatt Walters and Daris Wilson earned spots on the American team and Chase Connell, Matthew Ellis, Kyle Flowers, Daniel Floyd, Alex Hipps, Chandler Hudson, Stephen Pearlstein, Brendon Pope, Ethan Register, Lequintez Reynolds, Daniel Ross, Cody Sanders, Chance Shaver, Brian Smith and Jawara White were selected to the National squad.

Offensive fireworks started in the first inning as the American team jumped out to a 7-2 lead behind hits from Golden, Cole, Barron, Paul and Thomas. The American squad extended its lead to 18-2 after two innings. Walters, Harris, McLeod, Wilson, Leverett, Scott, Golden, Hall and Barron all contributed hits and Paul blasted a home run during the 11-run outburst. The National team cut the lead to 18-3 after Reynolds raced home and Pope, Register and White scored in the fourth to slice the lead to 18-6. The American squad tallied another run in the fifth for the final margin. Upshaw scored a run for the American squad and Floyd added a hit for the National team.

The second game featured more of the same as the American team jumped out to a 7-0 lead after the first frame. Harris, Sullivan, Thomas, Barron and Cole each had hits and scored runs for the American team in the first inning. White scored a run for the Nationals’ to trim the advantage to 7-1 in the second, but Scott, Leverett, McLeod, Harris, Sullivan, Thomas and Barron pounded out hits in the American half of the second inning for a 16-1 lead. Upshaw, Scott and Leverett crossed the plate in the third to build the lead to 19-1. Pearlstein and Shaver scored runs for the Nationals’ in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough and the American squad ran away with victory.

But even with the lopsided scores, the All-Star game was a success for both teams. The game gave all the players a chance to be recognized for their accomplishments during the season. And no matter the outcome, every star shined on Tuesday night.