Published: August 19, 2009 12:00 am      

O-Tigers struggle at plate in All-Star win

The Oneonta Tigers had little impact on Tuesday's New York-Penn League All-Star Game at State College, Pa., but their American League squad beat the National League affiliates, 4-2, in front of 5,401 fans.

Catcher John Murrian, who leads the Tigers with a .333 batting average, went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Murrian lasted five innings behind the plate before he was subbed out for right fielder Deangelo Mack.

Fellow Oneonta All-Stars Rawley Bishop, Michael Rockett and Carmelo Jaime each went 0-for-1 for the AL, which snapped a 1-1 tie with a three-run seventh inning.

First baseman Bishop also struck out, but he made it to second base in the top of the first. Bishop walked with two out and advanced to second when Neil Medchill singled to left. Both runners were stranded when NL starter Mark Cohoon struck out Welinton Ramirez looking.

Rockett took over for clean-up batter Medchill in left field in the last of the sixth. Rockett started the eighth inning by lining out to second baseman Francisco Soriano off NL reliever James MacDonald.

Rockett and Bishop also are batting better than .300 this season, at .310 and .302, respectively.

Jaime replaced No. 9 hitter Tyler Bortnick at shortstop in the seventh. He later popped out to Soriano at second for the last out in the top of the ninth. The AL All-Stars added Jaime to their team this past weekend as a replacement for injured Mahoning Valley shortstop Kyle Smith.

Oneonta's other All-Star, closer Kenny Faulk, pitched a perfect eighth.

Faulk, who replaced Francisco Rondon, got Sean Nicol to ground out to Jaime at short. Francisco Murillo then flew out to Rockett in left before Chase Austin flew out to center fielder Zoilo Almonte.

Faulk is tied for second in the NY-Penn with eight saves.

Ramirez homered to left with one out in the fourth against NL reliever Evan Bronson to give the AL a 1-0 lead. J.D. Martinez tied it in the fifth with a leadoff homer to left off Egan Smith.

The AL broke the deadlock in the seventh against losing pitcher Zachary Foster, who allowed a one-out double to center by Tyler Kelly. Almonte then drove in Kelly with two out on a soft liner to center. Jimmy Paredes followed with a two-run homer to left.

Almonte of the Staten Island Yankees went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI to lead the AL. Faulk helped Aberdeen's Jacob Smith to the pitching win. Smith allowed one hit in the sixth, his only inning.

Kyle Jensen ended the scoring with an RBI groundout in the ninth. Mahoning Valley's Cory Burns then earned the save when he got Russell Dixon to ground into a double play that Jaime turned.

The O-Tigers (29-25), who trail Lowell (31-25) by one game in the Stedler Division, open a three-game homestand against the Williamsport Crosscutters at 7:05 tonight. Williamsport (33-24) is second in the Pinckney Division, three games behind Mahoning Valley (36-21).

Following its series against Williamsport, Oneonta is on the road for two games at Lowell and three at Staten Island.

NYP American 4, NYP National 2

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Umpires""Home, Nick Lentz; 1B, Tim Rosso; 2B, Matt Jones; 3B, Jose Rivera; LF, Jose Esteas; RF, Brett Houseman. T""2:26. A""5,401.