Mangrum Named Star of Stars; Four-Run Eighth the Difference in 6-2 South Victory

By: Tim Hackett, Broadcasting Intern – Wisconsin Woodchucks

Wausau, Wis. – The 2017 Northwoods League All-Star Game was close all night on Tuesday in Wausau, but in the eighth inning, everything changed. The South Division struck for four runs on four hits, including one of each by a player from the hometown team, to jump out to a lead. From there, it was up to the other hometown player to seal the deal, and he did, as he so often does, to clinch the 6-2 victory for the South Division at Athletic Park.

The evening’s festivities began with the Home Run Derby. Rochester’s Zach Zubia (Texas) leads the league in homers and kicked off the event by blasting five dingers to stake the North to an early lead. Nolan Bumstead (CSU Northridge) hit three to extend the lead, but the South countered with three from Christian Jones (Campbell University) and two from a trio of players to close the gap to two. Scooter Bynum (Northern Illinois) couldn’t score in the final inning, and Stevie Mangrum (Virginia Tech) stepped in with a chance to tie the score, but he came up empty and the North claimed the event 13-11, with Zubia taking home the trophy as the top individual hitter.

The South got off to a fast start once the All-Star Game kicked off. Madison’s Cole Daily (Notre Dame) led off e first with a walk. He promptly stole second and got to third when catcher Jay Schuyler’s (San Diego) throw sailed into center field. Mangrum, representing the host Woodchucks, lined a single into left to score Daily and stake the South to an early lead.

The North responded quickly. St. Cloud’s Shane Selman (McNeese State) led off the second with a single and later charged home on Schuyler’s single, but Madison center fielder Doran Turchin (Illinois) popped up and rocketed a beautiful throw home where Lakeshore catcher Nick Gatewood (Georgia State) applied the tag on Selman to prevent the run. Undeterred, the next batter, Mankato’s Ethan Valdez (Nicholls State), smashed a ground-rule double into the left-field corner to score Schuyler to level the score.

The North seized its first lead of the game in the very next inning. Willmar’s Marcus Still (New Mexico State) led off the third with an infield single, got to third on a single by Thunder Bay’s Andy Weber (Virginia), and came home on a wild pitch from Fond du Lac’s Jon Mierzwa (Catholic University of America) to put the North up 2-1. It remained that way until the fifth, when Kenosha’s Derek Bangert (Bradley) blasted the first pitch he saw from Bismarck’s Tyler Steele (Vanguard) over the left-field wall to tie the game at two apiece.

The game remained deadlocked until the eighth. The North threatened in the top with a double and a walk, but Kalamazoo’s Connor Manous (Indiana) got the final out of the frame to keep the score tied. It didn’t stay that way for long. Lakeshore’s Matthew Mika (Central Florida) led off the bottom half with a double to right, and Daily followed with an RBI single. Turchin then singled to score Daily, and Mangrum doubled to score Turchin. Mangrum then scored as well when Fond du Lac catcher Nick Fortes’ (Ole Miss) ground ball snuck through Weber’s legs, capping off the scoring with the South up 6-2. Manous got one out in the ninth before Wisconsin’s Orsen Josephina (Hillsborough CC), the league leader in saves, struck out the two batters he faced to seal the deal in a 6-2 win for the South Division.

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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 23-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, 180 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visitwww.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.