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Fowl Ball! Weekly report on the DUCKS Long Island Ducks outfielder Kevin Haverbusch joined three of his teammates last week at Lancaster's Clipper Magazine Stadium to take part in the 2007 Atlantic League All Star Game. It was the second time the Massapequa native was selected to the play in the game since joining the Atlantic League four seasons ago, but his first representing the Ducks. Haverbusch did his team and hometown proud by hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning to help lead the North Division team to an 8-6 victory. "I certainly was not expecting to be chosen for the all-star team, so it definitely came as a nice surprise," says Haverbusch, "Lancaster did a great job hosting the game from the minute we got there until the minute we left; the accommodations, the food was great, everything was first-class. I also got to meet Brooks Robinson there, so that alone speaks for itself." Haverbusch was also glad he could do something special on the field as well in front of 7,361 fans, which was the largest allstar game crowd in the league's ten year history. "The Lancaster fans really get into it even for regular season games and they were really jacked up about this event," Haverbusch said, "So it was really exciting to hit a home run on such a big stage and in front of so many people." An interesting twist to the allstar game experience was that a large majority of Haverbusch's teammates at the event were from the two teams involved with the Ducks in the heated division race which had just ended a few days before. The situation certainly must have made for some interesting conversations among the rival players. "Yeah, there was a lot of discussion about it among those of us from the Ducks, Newark and Bridgeport," said the Ducks outfielder, "I specifically talked to some of the guys from Bridgeport and we were all saying that neither one of us won a game for what seemed like the last month. So the topic definitely came up a bunch of times but it was all just part of the fun." While there were a total of nine Ducks selected to the all-star team, the most from any team in the league, more than half of the players decided not to attend. However, not accepting the invitation was never an option in Haverbusch's mind as he knew he wanted to participate right from the beginning. "For me personally, the main reason I wanted to go is simply that the whole experience is fun," Haverbusch says, "You are competing against these guys for six months or so, you're banging heads, taking them out while running to second base, they are throwing inside or hitting you, but now you get to see your opponents on a personal level. You get to meet some guys who you don't already know and hang out with others you might have played with in the past; it really is all just in good fun." Haverbusch was not the only Duck to impact the game as all three of his teammates also played a part in the North Division's win. Outfielder Ray Navarrete hit a two-run single in the fifth inning which turned a one run deficit into a lead which the North team would not surrender. Ducks starting pitcher John Halama and reliever Ben Grezlovski each threw a shutout inning in relief during the game. Halama struck out two batters in the fifth inning while Grezlovski did not allow a hit during his appearance in the seventh. The other Ducks who were voted to the all-star team but did not attend the game were Edgardo Alfonzo, Carl Everett, Danny Graves, Jose Offerman and Pete Rose, Jr. Now that the fun of the all-star game is over, Haverbusch believes the Ducks have to turn the page and focus on the second half although it will not be easy to completely forget the frustration of losing the division by one single game.
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