Hot Rods’ Hernandez wins All-Star Home Run Derby

Published 7:25 am Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Bowling Green Hot Rods catcher Ronaldo Hernandez was crowned the king of the Midwest League’s All-Star Home Run Derby on Tuesday after outslugging Lake County’s Will Benson 13-10 in the final round at Cooley Law School Stadium in Lansing, Mich.

Hernandez, the Tampa Bay Rays’ 19th-rated prospect on mlb.com’s MLB Pipeline, connected for 14 home runs in the opening round.

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Bowling Green (47-22) had the most players in Tuesday’s Midwest League All-Star Game with seven on the Eastern Division roster. Dayton’s Montrell Marshall, a Cincinnati Reds prospect, earned game MVP honors after boosting the East to a 3-2 win in 10 innings over the West squad by lining a two-out single to right-center field to score Dayton teammate Stuart Easton for the game-ending score.

Bowling Green’s Moises Gomez was 2-for-4 and the Hot Rods’ Taylor Walls was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

On the mound, Bowling Green’s Riley O’Brien tossed a scoreless inning in relief and tallied a strikeout.

The Hot Rods, winners of 11 straight games, return to action Thursday against the Lake County (Ohio) Captains at Bowling Green Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.