For the first time in franchise history, a team of Banana Ball All-Stars were assembled to face off against the Clemson Tigers, an Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouse.
27 Banana Ball players were chosen to be a part of this team, as voted on by fans and staff. 17 of those guys were from the Savannah Bananas, nine were from the Party Animals and one represented the Firefighters.
Ultimately, the veterans pulled away with a 4-1 win, but as all games do in Banana Ball, it was nothing short of exciting.
11 pitchers on the All-Stars’ roster saw action on the bump. The rotation started with Noah Niznik, the 2024 Banana Ball Rookie of the Year award winner.
Despite kicking the night off by facing one of Bananas’ best arms, the Tigers still came ready to party.
That was made extremely apparent when Clemson’s third baseman, Jay Dillard rode out to home plate on a horse. Yes people, you heard that right. He was on a horse.
“Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” by Big and Rich was blaring over the speakers, obviously.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Tigers got to do what they normally don’t get the chance to do: Party.
The entire team charged into the outfield to celebrate, and it wasn’t long before the All-Stars joined in on the action.
@officialbananaball Which walk up did the @Clemson Tigers do best 👀 #bananaball #clemson #collegebaseball #savannahbananas #mlbedit #baseballboys #baseballmom
“It was unbelievable,” Listi said about the moment. “It was so fun, and I forgot everyone was coming at me there.”
The All-Stars got right to work, though, wasting no time in demonstrating their dominance. Reece Hampton walked off the first inning, giving the pros the first point in the game. He drove in DR Meadows, who was thrilled to be playing with a guy that’s usually his opponent.
“That guy taught me a lot about outfield, and I looked up to him and [Jake] Skole a lot when I first started playing there,” Meadows said. “Just being able to share the outfield with him has been super awesome.”
Offensive dominance steamed out of the All-Stars in the second inning as well, after Logan Lacey brought fire to his at-bat. His two-run home run secured point two of the game. Not to mention, in true Babe Ruth fashion, he called his shot before he sent it out.
Josh Paino, the Tiger’s shortstop and a former teammate of the Party Animals’ Dalton Ponce, was able to defy the odds and secure the hometown team’s first point of the game. His ground ball to Danny Hosley at third allowed Listi to cross home. The second inning wouldn’t have been complete without Andrew Cuifo’s walk-up though. Clemson’s extra hitter swayed up to the plate to a mash-up of New York, New York and Empire State of Mind. He waved an American flag in the air before trading it in for a bat.
“Going through the tunnel with my guys, swaying with them a little bit and waving the flag,” Cuifo said, “it was a lot of fun.”
The All-Stars were unable to fire back against the arm of who we’ve deemed, ‘Dancing’ Dion Brown. That kid can move. You couldn’t even tell that he was nervous.
“When I got out there, I just let it go,” Brown said. “It was awesome. Everybody that knows me knows I like to dance.”
That performance was Clemson’s very first 3-2-2, and it ended with four guys landing backflips. If that doesn’t exude Banana Ball, we aren’t sure what does.
Clemson’s Luke Gaffney kept the party going in the top of the fourth inning, with a pretty cool walk-up of his own. In true Banana Ball fashion, he paraded through the stands and ended up at the plate to Eye of the Tiger.
He got a bit tripped up on a ball four sprint, but that fumble allowed Tryston McCladdie on third to come home.
After scoring a run, Clemson took the opportunity to bust a few moves on home plate.
@officialbananaball @ClemsonBaseball DEVOURED their first dance in the All-Star game 🍽️ #bananaball #savannahbananas #clemson #clemsonbaseball #baseballboys #dancetrend
Now would it really be a Banana Ball game without a fan caught foul ball? Didn’t think so. Ryan Cox had the bat ripped from his hands by a fan in the bottom of the fourth inning. Without missing a beat, the Tigers sprinted out into the stands to meet their hero.
They seemed to find their rhythm in the top of the fifth inning. Meadows dove out for a line drive shot out to center field, but came up short, allowing the ball to roll to the fence. Listi crossed home plate with ease. What did that mean? Another Clemson Tiger home plate dance party. Sounds like something we all want to be invited to.
“It’s a whole lot of fun,” Ciufo said. “I don’t think any of us have ever played in an environment this crazy, this chaotic. It’s an opportunity for us just to have fun and let loose.”
Bill Leroy’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning allowed Dan Oberst to score and knot up the inning. Clemson’s double play closed up the inning, however, and the inning ended tied at one run each.
There was yet another fan caught a foul ball in the bottom of the sixth inning, once again taking the bat out of the hands of an All-Star, this time, Dalton Mauldin.
Tanner Thomas embodied his witchy side, becoming Elphaba and serenading the crowd with Defying Gravity. His performance was complete with a face painted green.
Chase Achuff scored after Meadows walked off the sixth inning. His double gave the All-Stars a two point lead. Meadows continued to pursue greatness in the top of the seventh inning, notching the first out with a backflip catch.
The All-Stars cemented the win in the bottom of the seventh inning after two hit-by-pitches set LeRoy up for his second RBI of the night, this one coming in the form of a walk-off single. The fourth point for the All-Stars was the last score in the game. Mitchell added a little bit of spice, ending the play with a headstand, as made famous by Jalen Walthall from University of the Incarnate Word; putting an exclamation point on the ending of the inaugural Banana Ball All-Star game.
For Banana Ball, Clemson was so nice, we’ve decided to do it twice. Next time, the game will be held in Memorial Stadium, with over 81,000 of our closest friends. See you again in April, Clemson. We can’t wait to party with you.
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