Luke Oliphant is named the MVP of the All Star Game. He spoke with Justin Paura following the game pic.twitter.com/fCdWA8uJTy
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 10, 2018
The atmosphere at the 2018 HCBL All-Star Game could be summed up with just one word: fun.
“Everybody is doing really well out here and we’re having a lot of fun playing together,” Tyler Becker of the Westhampton Aviators said before the first pitch. “It’s been really great so far.”
“It’s awesome receiving this honor and getting to play with some great players,” Long Island’s Marcos Perivolaris said. “We’re going to have fun and play the game it’s meant to be played.”
“It’s really fun playing ball with guys from all over the country,” Perivolaris’ Road Warriors teammate Ben McNeill said. “I’m just looking forward to another great game.”
The fun was accompanied by a beautiful baseball day with clear blue skies and ideal ball-game temperatures at Long Island’s beautiful Baseball Heaven. It was a day that started with a bang with the league’s annual Home Run Derby, followed by the game shortly after. For many of the local all-stars, coming back to Baseball Heaven stirred feelings of nostalgia.
“I’ve been playing here since I could remember, probably since I was six-years-old,” McNeill, the Commack High School-graduate and two-time all-star said. “Being back here in my college years is really something special.”
After North Fork’s Ben Tewilliger took the crown in the Home Run Derby thanks to eight first-round homers, 47 of the HCBL’s best athletes took the field. For the first time in league history, the teams were split up by the Red All-Stars (Long Island, Riverhead, Southampton, Sag Harbor) and the Blue All-Stars (Westhampton, North Fork, Shelter Island) rather than North vs. South.
As mentioned previously, it was a really fun evening and there is nothing more fun than an offensive clinic from both sides. The Red All-Stars ultimately won the game 12-5 in a contest that featured three home runs and 26 hits.
“I just wanted to make the most of my opportunity and enjoy this great night,” Luke Oliphant said after being named the game’s MVP with a 2-for-3, four RBI performance. “I was just trying to play some good baseball and have a good time.”
Oliphant took the game over when he pinch-hit for his Riverhead teammate Chris Stefl in the fifth, but he wasn’t the only one in the MVP conversation. McNeill started the game at third and reached base in five of six at-bats, including a solo blast in the eighth.
“It’s awesome sharing this moment with my teammates,” McNeill said when standing with three of the other eight Road Warriors who were selected to the game. “Starting back in February during our school seasons, we’ve been grinding it out and still are playing really hard. It’s fun grinding and getting together with these guys every day.”
Monday evening was a night full of great memories, great baseball and great fun. Now that the All-Star break is in the rearview mirror, league play is ready to start back up on Tuesday with Westhampton-Southampton and North Fork-Sag Harbor.
