South Wins All-Star Game Dogfight, 9-5

The South All-Stars rapped out 10 hits over the final three frames, exploding for a 9-5 win over the North All-Stars in front of a sellout crowd at Regions Field during the 46^th Annual Southern League All-Star Game presented by Wind Creek Wetumpka on Tuesday.

• Moments that Mattered: North Division pitchers were dealing a no-hitter, sitting just one walk beyond a perfect game until the South Division ignited behind a pair of key hits in the seventh. After a Zach Gibbons single broke up the no-hitter, Shed Long blasted a home run over right field to tie the game at 2-2.
• Turning Points: The South All-Stars took the lead in the top of the eighth behind a two-RBI single from Gibbons that plated Rodrigo Vigil and Corey Ray before Jake Hager's single plated Gibbons for a 5-2 lead. An RBI single from Zack Collins and a two-run double from Montgomery's Ryan Boldt again leveled the contest at 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth. However, Mississippi's Tyler Marlette launched the South into the driver's seat with a solo homer to lead-off the ninth.
• Most Valuable Player: After entering the game in the seventh inning, Gibbons lit up the scoreboard, going 3-for-3 with four RBIs and three runs scored to be named the 2018 Southern League All-Star Game MVP presented by BUSH's Best.
• By the Numbers: Pensacola's Long followed Mobile's Gibbons at the plate for the South, going 2-for-4 with two RBI. Birmingham's Danny Mendick, Jackson's Rudy Flores and Boldt each went 2-for-4. Boldt tallied two RBI, while Flores and Nathan Lukes each recorded one.
• Facts and Figures: The 8,500-fan sellout at Regions Field is the second-largest attendance in for a Southern League All-Star game in modern league history. As a reference, the 2009 installment at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium saw 7,129 fans come through the gates.