Mixon earns MVP honors in all-star loss|[5/28/06]
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, May 30, 2006
PEARL -Porters Chapel Academy’s Chris Mixon and Dan Ivey made some new friends, shared some fun moments, and had a great time at the Mississippi Private School Association’s all-star game.
When they tell stories of their weekend, however, they’ll probably leave out the final score.
Mixon went 3-for-3 with three singles and an RBI and earned MVP honors for the North all-stars, but his team was on the wrong end of a 13-3 drubbing by the South in the Class A all-star game.
Robbie Jackson tripled and drove in two runs and Brandon Ates went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI for the South, which racked up 17 hits and took advantage of five errors by the North.
“They ended up hitting the ball, slapping it around, and hitting it to places we couldn’t get to,” said Mixon, who started and played the first three innings in center field. He returned in the seventh inning for an at-bat and singled, helping the North score its final run.
Ivey went 0-for-2, with a pair of pop-fly outs, and was on deck when Tri-County’s Brentley Davis grounded out to end the game. Ivey said that no matter how the day went, getting to play in the all-star game was enjoyable.
“It was a good experience. It was fun. I got to take in the whole three days, not just the game,” Ivey said. “Just getting to be with all the guys who got picked was great.”
The game lasted nearly three hours, even after being shortened from nine innings to seven because of a schedule conflict at Trustmark Park. The stadium is home to the Mississippi Braves, who had a home game later Saturday night, and the Class AA-AAA all-star game was being played there after the Class A game.
The shorter game likely didn’t affect the outcome, but did force coaches to adjust their plans for distributing playing time. All of the starters on both sides left after three innings, then returned for one more at-bat in the seventh.
“They threw us a curveball when they shortened it,” said PCA coach Randy Wright, who was guidding the North all-stars along with Tri-County’s Joe Goolsby. “I understand why they did it, though.”
The South made sure there was no controversy to the decision by taking care of business early.
It scored two runs in each of the first four innings, then tacked on four more in the sixth and one in the seventh. The subs were just as hot as the starters, with Riverdale’s Dustin Allen went 2-for-2 with an RBI and Briafield’s Lee Michael Fairchild drove in a run with a single.