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Bourquin’s HR elevates East in all-star game

CLINTON — Ron Bourquin blasted a three-run, fourth-inning home run, leading the East to a 6-3 victory over the West in Tuesday night’s 45th annual Midwest League All-Star game.

Bourquin, a 24-year-old first baseman for the West Michigan Whitecaps, homered off the Kane County Cougars’ Jamie Richmond. Bourquin, who played college baseball at Ohio State, came into the All-Star game hitting .302 with 47 RBIs and just two home runs. He was a second-round pick by the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 draft.

Relief pitcher Joe Testa, the Beloit Snappers’ lone representative on the West team, pitched two-thirds of a scoreless inning in the game hosted by the Clinton Lumber

Kings at 72-year-old Alliant Energy Ballpark.

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, the Milwaukee Brewers’ Class A team, had five players on the West team. Catcher Corey Kemp was 0-for-2, second baseman Brett Lawrie was 0-for-2 with two strikeouts, and pitchers Jim Henderson, Daniel Meadows and Wily Peralta combined to pitch 13 scoreless innings.

The East took a 1-0 lead in the third on a sacrifice fly by the Great Lakes’ Jaime Pedroza.

Bourquin’s blast helped push the East to a 5-0 lead.

The West got two runs back in the fourth on a home run by Kane County’s Steve Kleen and a double by Burlington’s Nicholas Francis.

The teams traded runs in the seventh inning.

Bass pitched the second inning and earned the victory for the East.

Notes

-- The average age of the East Division All-Stars is 21.69, the average for the West is 22.34.

-- Lansing Lugnuts RHP Henderson Alvarez is the youngest player in this year’s game, having just turned 19 back in April. Timber Rattlers’ closer Jim Henderson is the oldest at 26.

-- This is the fourth time Clinton has played host to the game and the second time hosting it since the Midwest League went to an East vs. West format. The West won that 1998 contest, 7-4, behind the hitting of Kane County’s Ross Gload, who doubled and drove in two runs.

-- Peoria’s Rebel Ridling blasted 12 home runs, including five in the final round, to capture the Midwest League Home Run Derby title during Monday’s festivities at Alliant Energy Field. The Oklahoma State product beat out Lawrie. Lawrie, who had gone deep twice in each of the first two rounds, homered only once in the finals.

-- Great Lakes shortstop Dee Gordon, won the Skills Contest with a pair of three-point bunts in the sudden-death round.

-- The Milwaukee Brewers’ famous racing sausages made an appearance at Tuesday night’s game.

EAST ALL-STARS 6, WEST ALL-STARS 3

East All-Stars (ab-r-h-rbi)—Harrison, dh, 3-0-1-0; Van Kirk, ph/dh, 2-0-0-0; Pedroza, 2b, 3-0-1-1; Douglas, 2b, 2-1-1-0; Vitters, 3b, 3-0-0-0; Darnell, 3b, 1-0-1-1; Russell, rf, 5-0-0-0; Burke, lf, 3-1-1-0; Marte, lf, 1-0-0-0; Carroll, cf, 4-1-4-0; Delmonico, c, 2-1-1-1; Coddington, ph/c, 2-0-0-0; Bourquin, 1b, 1-1-1-3; Riding, ph/1b, 2-0-0-0; Gordon, ss, 2-1-1-0; Navarro, ph/ss, 2-0-0-0. Totals: 39-6-12-6.

West All-Stars (ab-r-h-rbi)—Amarista, 2b, 3-0-0-0; Lawrie, 2b, 2-0-0-0; Christian, 3b, 3-0-1-0; Tenbirnk, 3b, 1-0-0-1; Van Stratton, lf, 3-0-0-0; Auer, lf, 1-0-0-0; Kleen, 1b, 2-1-1-1; Savastano, ph/1b, 2-0-10-; Barfield, dh, 2-0-1-0; Sanchez, ph/dh, 1-0-0-0; Cutler, c, 2-0-0-0; Kemp, ph/c, 2-0-0-0; Almonte, cf, 4-1-1-0; Francis, rf, 3-1-2-1; Coleman, ss, 2-0-0-0; Serrano, ss, 1-0-1-0. Totals: 34-3-8-3.

East 001 400 100—6

West 000 200 100—3

E—Cook. DP—East 1. LOB—East 7, West 7. 2B—Pedroza, Douglas, Darnell, Francis 2, Serrano. HR—Bourquin, Kleen. SB—Gordon, Carroll 2. CS—Gordon. PB—Delmonico.

East All-Stars IP H R ER BB SO

Cook 1 1 0 0 0 0

Bass (W, 1-0) 1 1 0 0 1 2

Fairel 1 0 0 0 0 0

Walter 1 3 2 2 0 1

Gayhart 1 0 0 0 0 1

Herr .1 0 0 0 1 0

Hose .2 0 0 0 0 0

Stohr .1 1 1 1 1 1

Zepeda .2 0 0 0 0 1

Buchler .1 1 0 0 0 1

Redding .2 0 0 0 0 0

Guerra .2 0 0 0 0 1

Brach .1 1 0 0 0 1

West All-Stars IP H R ER BB SO

Smalley 1 0 0 0 0 0

Pribanic 1 1 0 0 0 0

Chatwood (L, 0-1) 1 1 1 1 1 1

Richmond .2 6 4 4 0 0

Testa .2 0 0 0 0 0

Hann .2 0 0 0 0 0

Casey .2 1 0 0 0 1

Meadows .1 0 0 0 0 0

Peralta .1 0 0 0 0 1

Bowden .2 2 1 1 0 1

Kohn .2 1 0 0 0 1

Henderson .2 0 0 0 0 1

Flores .2 0 0 0 1 0

Time: 2:56. Attendance: NA.