Merced County All-Stars look to end streak

Kevin Jones knows he faces a daunting task.

The annual clash between Merced and Stanislaus County All-Stars has not gone well for the locals. The Stanislaus stars are a perfect 5-0 and have outscored Merced County 49-17 in those games.

But after witnessing first hand the full arsenal of arms at Merced County’s disposal as the head coach of the South team in last week’s Merced County All-Star game, the Dos Palos coach is confident the streak ends this year.

“Looking over the roster, I really feel like this is one of the strongest teams Merced County has ever fielded,” Jones said. “With guys like Andrew Mitchel (Buhach Colony) and Mitchell Miller (Merced), we’ve got seven or eight legit pitchers, and that’s not including Efrain (Del Rio of Dos Palos) and Derek Molina (Atwater), who also play the field.

“I really feel like this is the team to get that first win.”

The sixth annual Merced County vs. Stanislaus County All-Star game will be held on Saturday night at Blue Devil Field. The first pitch is set for 7 p.m.

As good as Jones feels about his team, Stanislaus will be every bit as formidable with aces like Beyer’s Micah Hall (11-0, 1.22 ERA), Central Catholic’s Brad Nightengale (8-2, 1.86 ERA) and Gregori’s Anthony Dugo (7-3, 1.19 ERA).

Stanislau’ offense will be led by Gregori’s Tyler Janitz (.419 average, 21 runs batted in), Ceres’ Brad Bussard (.433, 27 RBIs) and Pitman’s Matt Carrigg (.493).

Merced County will counter with Del Rio (.505, 11 home runs, 39 RBIs), Molina (.459, 19 RBIs) and Gustine’s Robert Mello (.429, 19 RBIs).

“The guys are very much aware of the history,” Jones said. “One of the first speeches they were given for the Merced County All-Star game was if they were asked to participate on this team, that they’d have the opportunity to make some history.”

With that in mind, expect Jones to do a little more managing than the week before.

“Last week, I figured everyone can hit, so I kind of just let them go,” Jones said. “This week, you might see a little more small ball or base stealing if the situation calls for it. Dos Palos’ signs are pretty simple, so we’ll give them a quick instruction before the game and get after it.

“We certainly have the talent on this roster to get a win. My job is to just try and put them in the right spots at the right time to make that happen.”

This story was originally published June 18, 2015 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Merced County All-Stars look to end streak."