BLUES BEAT REDS, 7-4, IN ACADEMY ROOKIE LEAGUE ALL-STAR GAME

The Blue team scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to break a 4-4 tie before reliever Nicolas Heredia turned in a 1-2-3 effort in the bottom of the frame as the Blues beat the Red team, 7-4, in the 2010 Academy Rookie League All-Star Game Sunday at Estadio Monterrey, home of the LMB's Sultanes.

Reds pitcher Ivan Cota left the game in the top of the ninth with the bases loaded, but fellow reliever Luis Garcia then issued three consecutive walks to Blues batters, forcing in the winning runs. Cota, who is property of the Mexico City Diablos Rojos, was pinned with the loss while Laguna farmhand Cristian Ramos was credited with the win despite allowing two Reds runs in the bottom of the eighth. Heredia, a Sultanes rookie leaguer, was awarded the save. Shortstop Moises Gutierrez of the combined Monterrey-Chuhuahua team, was named the MVP after scoring twice and handling five chances in the field cleanly.

The league is based at a baseball academy in El Carmen, a suburb of Monterrey, and features five combined teams of players who are property of ten Mexican League teams. Mexico City-Oaxaca leads the standings with a 30-10 record, two games ahead of 27-11 Monterrey-Chihuahua.