Macon Bacon players including a Middle Georgia native shine at All-Star Game

The plan, as per usual for an All-Star Game, was simple: the hometown pitcher and representative for the hosting team would come on last, and hopefully be in a closer situation.

That wasn’t the case for Houston County grad and Mercer sophomore Kai Decker, who represented the Macon Bacon in the final frame of the Coastal Plain League All-Star Game on Monday.

By then, the East offense had done plenty of damage, and its pitching prevented any damage en route to a 6-0 win Monday night over the host West in the CPL’s own version of the midsummer classic at historic Luther Williams Field.

Still, it was a successful outing for the pitcher repping the Bacon and Bears. The East got a run off Decker in the ninth, but it didn’t hurt since the West had been unable to get anything going all night, a trend unlikely to change in the bottom of the ninth.

“I thought it went pretty well,” said Decker, owner of the lowest opponents’ average in the league. “I was just trying to throw strikes, just trying to get guys out.”

For about half of the game, it was about pitching, which doesn’t usually happen in all-star games.

“It was a good pitchers duel,” Macon’s Billy Ham said. “It was kind of unfortunate that they were able to crack some over the fence at the home field.”

Last year’s all-star showdown in Forest City ended in a nine-inning, 4-4 deadlock a year after the East won 8-6 in Lexington, S.C.

But the 2022 battle in Holly Springs belonged to the arms, the West taking a 3-2 win.

It was similar to that 2022 story. East pitchers racked up 14 strikeouts to eight for the West crew.

The skills competition on Sunday might’ve been a little precursor to the East feeling at home at Luther Williams, since three of the four titles went to players from the East.

Boone’s Michael Young was the lone winner from the West, taking the catcher accuracy competition over Wilson’s Chase Waddell, Holly Springs’ Andrew Keller and Asheboro’s Seojun Oh.

The fastest man in the league is Peninsula’s Kazuya Jordan, who ran 7.22 in the championship round to beat Lexington County’s Brandon Gibbs (7.56).

Jordan did manage a stolen base in the seventh after getting hit by a pitch, then scored the East’s fourth run.

The most accurate outfielder arm belongs to Charlie Bussey of Wilson, who topped Hayden Friese of Martinsville in the “frozen ropes” throwing contest.

Bussey entered the game in the final innings and also didn’t get a chance to gun anybody down.

Another local, Evan Bouldin, was handled in his lone at-bat, popping out to second.

Bouldin finished runner-up in the derby after he belted nine bombs in the second round on Sunday before he was shut out in the final round.

That trend followed for the Bacon’s Ham, whose lone plate appearance came in the seventh, and ended in an eight-pitch strikeout.

“It was a down-and-in slider,” said Ham, a first baseman at Nevada, of the third strike. “It’s just one you want to foul off.

“I tried to let the ball come to me, not trying to do too much. The setting, coming in the game, it is tough, especially getting the one at-bat.”

The West escaped a bases-loaded first without giving up any runs, and then loaded the bases in the bottom half and came up empty.

Just when it seemed like the West would get out of another mild jam after a sweet 7-6-5 out at third when Trenton Lyons tried to stretch a leadoff double, Kyle Edwards drilled a first-pitch homer for the lead just one out later. 

Chase Waddell followed a two-out single with a homer to right that was just fair and just over the fence in the fifth.

The West got runners on — the first two batters in the fourth, for example — but couldn’t push them across. The hosts stranded nine runners against eight left stranded for the East.

Greenville’s Quinn Holt was named the game’s top pitcher, after striking out the side in the sixth.

Waddell took home top hitter honors, courtesy of the two-run homer. 

Decker and Ham certainly would’ve liked better individual and team performances, but they still had smiles as all-star festivities concluded with the start of postgame fireworks.

“The experience was great, especially having it here,” said Ham, echoing Decker. “It was great to hear the crowd cheer real loud for you. A great experience.”

Ham will enjoy the time off until Wednesday, the second-place finish in the derby taking a little out of him.

“I woke up (Monday) morning, my back is pretty sore,” he said. “Swinging real hard.”