Back home, Davidson wins Derby

RENO -- With four blasts in the final round, Reno Aces third baseman Matt Davidson bested Memphis Redbirds first baseman Brock Peterson to win the 2013 Triple-A All Star Home Run Derby. 

In front of his home crowd of 8,254, Davidson made it back-to-back hometown heroes in the competition. Buffalo saw Bisons outfielder Val Pascucci win the competition in 2012.

"Being here in Reno, this is my favorite park to play in so far this year," said Davidson, who actually wasn't even in town until 1 a.m. Monday. Davidson was busy winning Futures Game MVP honors in New York and had to take a late cross-country flight out of the city.

"I got up around 4 p.m., got some food and headed over here. I worked out a little bit, tried to get my blood going. It's been a whirlwind. I'm excited to get some sleep tonight, that's for sure. I wasn't here trying to win it. I was just having a good time."

With 11 home runs across the three rounds and seven in the first round, Peterson actually topped Davidson's 10. But with scores reset to zero for the final round, Davidson took the title.

"I really came out here today and I wanted to hit as many home runs as I could," MLB.com's No. 62 prospect Peterson said. "Guys told me, 'Don't waste 'em in the first round.' But you know, you only get one shot at this, so I figured I'd just try to hit as many as I could."

After hitting two home runs immediately upon stepping into the batter's box, Aces manager Brett Butler, pitching to the D-backs' top hitting prospect, threw one deliberately to the backstop, drawing a roar from the crowd.

"I loved it," said Peterson, who slugged five more to lead all first-round competitors with seven. "I like stuff like that. It's fun. The crowd got a good laugh out of it and I was laughing about it. It didn't affect me at all. I thought it was awesome."

Local McQueen High School grad Kody Reynolds finished third with five home runs.

"I had a lot of fun," said Reynolds. "After I hit the first one, all the nerves pretty much left. When I walked into the clubhouse, there were some big guys. I'm kind of a big kid, but they were way bigger than me. I was like, 'I think I'm going to use the metal bat.'"

Gwinnett's Ernesto Mejia slugged two in the second round to finish with four total. He narrowly advanced to the second round after hitting one out during a five-out runoff against Buffalo's Mauro Gomez. Both had belted two in the first round.

Fresno catcher Johnny Monell, the game's only southpaw, led off the Derby, but managed just one home run and did not advance. Rochester's Chris Colabello was unable to get any balls out of the park.

The Aces announced before the game that they would donate $19 for every home run hit to a fund supporting the families of the Prescott Fire Department's Granite Mountain Hotshots, who gave their lives fighting the Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona earlier this month.