Marines Beat Navy in 16th Anual Navy vs. Marine Corps All-Star Game
By Richardson Miron, MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDELTON
Chris Cano ripped Navy starter Lucas Ledbetter’s heater into the right-field gap, took a wide turn around first base, and after passing second, stumbled flat on his stomach some 40 feet from third base.
It was a comical sight — the kind you see on a blooper highlight reel — but in the end, Cano and his Camp Pendleton varsity baseball team had the last laugh.
Cano's double knocked home Sunday's first two runs and the Marines went on to a 6-3 victory in the 16th Annual Navy vs. Marine Corps All-Star Game.
"I heard slack about it all game," Cano said after the showdown in front of 352 fans.
"Honestly, in a game like this, funny things happen. We just had a blast."
Despite being removed from the game due to an injury sustained on the amusing belly-flop, Cano was all smiles at the game's conclusion.
The leftfielder and his teammates had the right to yuck-it-up after the victory, which marked the Marines' second in a row and eighth in 16 match-ups since the series began in 1990.
After all, Navy coach Terry Allvord sent out a press release in which he intimated his Navy squad was more talented, stating the Marines were "out-manned and out-gunned" in 2004, but still managed to come away with what he thought was an unlikely victory.
But Allvord’s suggestion that the Navy is "more talented" didn't exactly play out.
Marines coach Brian Pinson read Allvord’s comment and used it to fire up his players.
"I said 'look at this, read it,'" Pinson said. "I knew if we had our 'A game' we'd be hard to beat. … Frankly, we just shoved it up their (butt) tonight."
The Marines, who won six consecutive match-ups between 1996 and 2001, have now taken the series' first two games at the Padres' new downtown ballpark.
"We will tip our cap to them again,' Allvord said. "They played well today. … We were the opposite of them. We didn't get the clutch hits. (I think) our guys are a lot better than they showed."
Down by two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Navy put together its last rally when Michael Hernandez singled home William Gury to cut the Marines' lead to 4-3. But Hernandez was thrown out at second trying to steal; blunting the comeback attempt.
Marine catcher Jeff Shearon, who threw Hernandez out and poked three singles in the contest, was the game's MVP. Navy leadoff man Ray Judy also had three hits, but popped up with two runners on base for the game's last out.
