Stars' Arias, Hajek, Royster fall short in all-star game

NORFOLK, Va. -- Another all-star game, another night with guys named McGwire, Ripken and others providing much of the entertainment.

The Triple-A All-Star game Wednesday night didn't feature the major league's home run leader or ironman, but it did have reasonable facsimiles, and these guys really were larger than life.

Of course, the people wearing 10-foot-tall blow-up costumes and prancing around between innings with names such as Shark McGwire, Cow Ripken Jr. and Ken Giraffey Jr. weren't major league stars, but they entertained all the same.

So did players such as Mike Lowell of Columbus, who hit a solo home run, a run-scoring double and was voted the International League's most valuable player after its 8-4 victory against the Pacific Coast League stars.

"My main focus was to take good swings and have a good time," said Lowell, batting .316 with 17 homers and 65 RBIs for the Clippers.

The Las Vegas Stars contingent for the game consisted of PCL manager Jerry Royster, starting third baseman George Arias and second baseman Dave Hajek. Arias, the PCL's home run and RBI leader, had a double in three at-bats and scored a run. Hajek was 0-for-2.

From the outset, fun was the point of almost everything.

Before the first pitch, recent New York Mets call-up Benny Agbayani married his fiancee, Neila, at home plate. And in the middle of the seventh inning, 10-foot Harry Canary led everyone in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

"It's good to hang out with the guys, play the game and have some fun," said Oklahoma's Warren Newson, who homered and drove in two for the PCL.

Rochester's Joel Bennett, who started for the IL, pitched two scoreless innings and said his season of good fortune carried over at the break.

"It's continuing," said Bennett, who arrived here a perfect 10-0 for a last-place team that is 26-46 in games Bennett has not pitched. "Hopefully it'll continue all year. Hopefully I can keep doing the things I've been doing."

The IL never trailed after a three-run first, adding two more runs in the fourth and three more in the seventh to open an 8-3 lead.

The loss went to Travis Baptist of Salt Lake, who came in with an 8-3 record and 2.77 ERA, but was pounded from the outset.

Former Norfolk star Roberto Petagine, now with Indianapolis, got the IL going with an RBI groundout in the first. Lowell followed with a long home run to left, and Bobby Estalella made it 3-0 when he singled after Willis Otanez doubled.

Terry Shumpert of Colorado Springs, a former Las Vegas Star, hit a two-out homer for the PCL in the third, and Jeff Ball's RBI single in the fourth made it 3-2. But the IL padded its lead in its half of the inning thanks to a misplay by Armando Rios of Fresno.

With one out, Trot Nixon hit a line drive that froze Rios in center, then sailed over his outstretched glove and to the wall, scoring Otanez. Nixon came home when Scott Krause singled, giving the IL a 5-2 lead.

After Newson's RBI grounder in the fifth and home run in the eighth drew the PCL to within 5-4, Alex Gonzalez hit an RBI triple, Allen Battle singled him home and scored on Lowell's double off the wall in center field.

Shumpert was voted the PCL's MVP.

For Newson, who has been an all-star in single-A, double-A and triple-A, his performance also served as a statement. He has spent at least part of the last seven seasons in the bigs, and is itching to get back.

"The goal is to get back to the major leagues, to show that I don't belong here," he said. "This is just one of the steps I have to take."

Agbayani, of Hawaii, was originally to be married before the game, then play in it. But the outfielder was called up to the Mets the day after the plans were announced, and he was no longer eligible to participate.

Instead, wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt that matched his bride's blue dress, Agbayani and Neila exchanged vows at home plate, then walked through a tunnel of bats formed by all-stars to TV cameras at the pitcher's mound.

"I think it was neat," Newson said. "It was fun."

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