Fuentes, PCL batters steal All-Star show at Huntington Park

and the red, white and blue painted stars on the infield grass and bunting hanging from the skyboxes really weren’t needed to let everyone know that it was a special night.

World War II veteran Milton Mapou of Grove City, who earned two purple hearts and two gold stars beginning with Pearl Harbor on the U.S.S. Detroit, threw out the first pitch.

An overflow crowd of 10,516 elbowed its way into the stadium and saw one of the most offensive all-star games in history as four Pacific Coast League players had four hits each, including third baseman Josh Fuentes of Albuquerque with a runscoring single and solo home run, in a 12-7 victory over the International League on Wednesday night.

Left fielder D.J. Stewart of Norfolk and second baseman Kean Wong of Durham each had three hits for the IL.

The PCL scored the fourth-most runs by a team in the history of the game, and the combined 17 runs were the second most.

“Columbus, the venue and the fans and city, is just awesome,” said Fuentes, who was voted the PCL star of the game. “We had such a great time. (The home run) was 2 and 0 and an outside fastball and I just took it. So many emotions went through my head. I put a good swing on it.”

Wong, who was voted the IL star player, said the game is a good showcase for a young player trying to catch the eyes of a scout.