Marshall delivers All-Star walk-off win
LANSING, Michigan -- Montrell Marshall knew the pressure sat squarely on his shoulders Tuesday night.The Dayton Dragons first baseman came to the plate in the bottom of the 10th inning of the Midwest League All-Star Game with the score tied, a runner on second base and two outs. Both sides
LANSING, Michigan --
The Dayton Dragons first baseman came to the plate in the bottom of the 10th inning of the Midwest League All-Star Game with the score tied, a runner on second base and two outs. Both sides already were told that the 10th would be the final inning, so Marshall could have been the final out in a game that ended in a tie.
"It came down to me, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way," Marshall said. "I want to be in that situation every night if I can."
The Reds prospect delivered, lining a two-out single to the gap in right-center field to score Dayton teammate
"I knew I had the power to just throw the bat head at the ball," said Marshall, who was named BUSH'S® All-Star MVP. "I knew I couldn't strike out. I had to put the ball in play."
While Marshall earned the MVP award, the stars were the 28 pitchers who saw action. The teams combined for 15 hits and 20 strikeouts and struggled to scrape together runs as the hurlers did not issue a walk.
"We knew this was a game that would pit one good team against another good team," said Eastern Division skipper Cesar Martin, who manages the Lansing Lugnuts. "When you have good pitching, it's often ahead of the hitting, even if it's good hitting."
Gameday box score
The Eastern Division scored first when leadoff man
The Western Division came close to tying it in the fifth. Wisconsin's
"I asked [Orimoloye] if he wanted to go on contact or make the ball go through," said Western Division manager Mickey Storey of Quad Cities. "He said he wanted to go on contact, so I said, 'Let's do it.' He got a good jump and did everything developmentally correct. But the ball hit the pitcher and the pitcher made the play."
The Eastern Division doubled its lead in the bottom of the inning when Great Lakes'
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But the Western Division got on the board in the sixth against Cubs No. 23 prospect
The East threatened to add to its lead in the seventh when Bowling Green's
The West tied it with two outs in the eighth as Gonzalez singled off Bowling Green's
When the game moved to the 10th, the West failed to move its designated runner beyond second base. It appeared the same fate was about to befall the East before Marshall's heroics.
"I thought it was a really good game played by both sides," Martin said. "Both sides had good defensive plays as well. Marshall's at-bat was a great swing, and a great way to end a great game."
Storey agreed, adding, "I thought it was a phenomenally played game -- by both sides. Our guys swung the bat well and didn't have a lot to show for it. There was a lot of hard contact, but a lot of balls hit right at guys. If this was my team in a regular-season game, I would have told my guys they had played a really good game -- and lost."
John Wagner is a contributor to MiLB.com.