Rios Homers in 81st Texas League All-Star Game

Frisco, TX - The Tulsa Drillers had a strong presence in the 81st Texas League All-Star Game Tuesday night as all five of the Drillers who were at the game made an appearance. But it was the South Division who would triumph over the North Division for the second straight year as they broke a 3-3 tie with a 7-run, fourth inning en route to a 10-3 victory in front of 10,317 fans at Dr Pepper Ballpark.
The Drillers actually had a league-leading eleven players voted onto the squad, but only five were able to attend the exhibition due to various factors.
Edwin Ríos headlined the Tulsa performances as he was in the starting lineup and played the entire game, finishing 1-3. His one hit was a big one though as he blasted a solo shot into the Lazy River beyond the right field fence in the third inning to temporarily tie the ballgame at 3-3 for the North Division All-Stars. Rios entered the game with the second-most home runs in the Texas League with fifteen through the first half.
Edward Paredes came on to pitch in relief out of the bullpen to start the fourth but gave up three singles sandwiched around a walk and a strikeout before he was replaced by Corey Baker from Springfield. Baker did not fare much better however, as he gave up five hits to the red-hot South Division lineup. By the time the inning was over, the South Division led 10-3.
Things would stay fairly quiet from there as both teams worked all their All-Stars into the contest. For Tulsa, Matt Beaty pinch-hit in the top of the sixth and then played third base for the remainder of the game. Similarly, Paul Hoenecke came on as a defensive replacement at catcher in the home half of the sixth and picked up a base hit as he collected one of the six hits by the North Division lineup.
Corey Copping was the final Driller to appear in the game as he pitched the bottom of the seventh without allowing any walks or hits.
Midland's B.J. Boyd was named MVP for the game as he finished the contest 3-4 with a double, 3 RBI and a run scored for the victorious South Division.
To view the box score for the All-Star Game, CLICK HERE.
The Tulsa All-Stars will get to pick up where they left off when the second half of the Texas League season resumes for the Drillers with a road trip to All-Star Game hosts, the Frisco RoughRiders. Following a travel day on Wednesday, the Drillers will take on the RoughRiders in a 3-game set starting at 7:05 PM Thursday night.