Moapa Valley tandem shines as East romps

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, July 22, 1999 | 9:55 a.m.

In a game filled with the biggest names in Southern Nevada prep baseball, two players from the state's smallest American Legion program took center stage Wednesday night.

Brian Bonnett and Shanon Phillipenas of Moapa Valley High School -- the only Class 3A school fielding a varsity Legion squad this summer -- stole the show on All-Star Night, producing a home run champion and propelling the East squad to a lopsided 25-3 win in the game itself.

"They're from a little smaller division, but they really came up and proved themselves," said Green Valley's Kurt Gehlken, who coached the victorious Eastern All-Stars.

Bonnett got things started for the Moapa pair during the pre-game home run derby. The lanky left-hander smashed four shots over Durango's right-field wall, easily besting his closest competitor by three homers.

"I got nervous at first, but when the first one when out of here, they just started flowing and I felt comfortable," Bonnett said.

Then, with the East holding a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning of the All-Star Game, Phillipenas took over. With the bases loaded and two men out, the diminutive catcher hammered a 1-1 pitch from Bonanza's John Teepe to deep left-center for an unexpected grand slam.

"I was just happy to hit the ball," Phillipenas said. "When I saw the umpire twirl his finger, I started shaking up there."

"Moapa's always been known for basketball and football, but we're starting to step up our (baseball) program," Bonnett said, referring not only to the Pirates' all-star accomplishments, but also to their 3A Division III title last spring.

After Phillipenas' homer, things went from bad to worse for the West squad, as the East reeled off 14 runs in the fourth and fifth innings combined to put the game well out of reach.

I didn't expect this," Gehlken said. "I thought it would be very close."

In addition to Phillipenas' bases-clearing shot, the East got homers from Lake Havasu's Robbie Willis and Valley's Mike Rodriguez. All told, the victors racked up 19 hits, including nine for extra bases.

Meanwhile, the Western squad managed little offense in the nine-inning affair, as seven East pitchers combined to hold their foes to five total hits.

"Most all of the kids are starters and they're not used to coming in in relief situations, but they all did a great job," Gehlken said.

Green Valley's Ryan Myers pitched two innings of one-hit baseball to pick up the all-star win.

* NOTES: Silverado and Bishop Gorman, currently first and third in the division standings, respectively, were not represented in the game. Both local squads, along with the Reno Knights, are spending the week playing in the Pure Baseball Classic, a wood bat tournament in Ogden, Utah. ... Green Valley's Dave Krynzel won this year's base-running competition with ease, posting a time of 13.84 -- nearly a full second faster than Cheyenne's Dave Evans (14.80). Chaparral's Bijon Damivandi was third with a time of 15.35. ... The host Trailblazers captured the 'hot-hands' derby, getting the ball around the infield twice in just 11.07 seconds. Eldorado (12.64) and Bonanza (12.85) were second and third, respectively. ... Eldorado's Gary Hee and Silverado's Vincent Valiente were named Co-MVPs for the 1999 Legion season on Wednesday. Basic's Mike Rose and Gorman's Ben Quinto shared Sportsmanship Award honors, while Las Vegas' Sean Kazmar was selected Rookie of the Year. First-year Palo Verde coach Artie Besser picked up Coach of the Year honors. ... Silverado and Durango, currently tied with just one division loss, will play a key doubleheader next Tuesday at Durango at 5 p.m. The regular season division winner will earn an automatic berth to this year's Region 8 Tournament, which will begin August 12 at UNLV's Wilson Stadium. A second local berth will be determined at this year's state tournament, which is slated to start July 30, also at Wilson Stadium.