The West squad came out swinging in the 15th annual Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park, defeating the East team 6-1 to win for a second straight year. Power was a theme coming into the game, with both teams featuring power bats and power arms, and they were certainly on display in San Diego.

Kendall Logan Simmons collected the first hit of the game in the bottom of the second inning, driving a 96-mph offering from J.T. Ginn deep down the left field line for a double. With runners on first and second with two outs, West catcher Noah Naylor made a great recovery on a ball in the dirt to throw out Simmons to end the threat in the second.

An error in left field started things for the West in the top of the third, as Alek Thomas hustled right out of the box to reach second base safely. A fly ball to right field by Osiris Johnson moved Thomas to third, but East pitcher Mason Denaburg induced a ground ball to the drawn in defense to keep Thomas from scoring. With two outs in the inning, Nolan Gorman crushed a long home run to right-center field that put the West team on the board with their first two runs of the night.

In the top of the seventh, Groshans launched a solo home run to left field, turning on a 96 mph delivery by Lineras Torres Jr., to push the West lead to 3-0. Torres would bounce back though, striking out two of the next four hitters to escape the inning limiting the damage to one run.

Denaburg singled with one out in the bottom of the seventh to start a rally for the East Squad and advanced to second on a walk by Xavier Edwards. Nander De Sedas also walked, loading the bases for Banfield. A wild pitch scored Denaburg, putting the East on the board, but they were unable to add on as Blake Burzell struck out Banfield before getting John Malcolm to ground to third.

Back-to-back walks against lefty Jonathan Gates was the story in the top of the eighth for the West team, who was looking to add on and respond to the East’s run. After a strikeout and another walk, Gorman singled home two runs to push the lead to 5-1. The West would tack on one more on an infield single by Kelenic to take a commanding 6-1 lead. Gorman would finish the game 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk and four RBIs and would be awarded the game’s MVP award.

Seth Halvorsen was given the ball in the bottom of the ninth and finished with a flourish, needing only 14 pitches to strike out the side and secure the second straight win for the West squad. The West now holds an all-time 9-5-1 advantage over the East in the 15 years the Classic has been played.

One of the other events that took place on Sunday was the semifinals and finals of the PGAAC Home Run Challenge, that were staged about an hour before the Classic’s first pitch; crowd favorite Preston Hartzell from nearby Newport Coast, Calif., hammered his way to the title.

2017 Game Recap
2017 Box Score
2017 Event Blog