HAMPTON The true all-star talent wasn't on the field yesterday; it was in the dugout.

Coaches at the baseball and softball high school all-star games juggled lineups of as many as 18 players, ensuring everybody got their turn to show off their skills.

"It was pretty easy until late in the game," Powhatan baseball coach Gregg Conner said. "One of the main goals is to try to get everybody to participate, and we were able to do that."

In the process, his lineup card ended up looking like an improperly done connect-the-dots puzzle.

Conner, Deep Run coach Grant Odell and six Richmond-area players were on the East team, which fell to the West 7-6 in the baseball game. On the softball field, the East extended its 10-year winning streak with a 6-1 victory.

The East team MVP in the softball game was Monacan's Brianna Bertovich, who went 2 for 3 with two runs. She was a last-minute replacement who held her own against the state's best.

"I think it makes you better, and it really makes you play to your potential," she said of facing the state's best.

Also on the team, chosen by the Virginia High School Coaches Association, was Whitney Haller of Cosby, who was the starting pitcher, Caitlen Manning of Prince George, Laura Bauer of New Kent and Courtney Long of Hanover.

Long was adjusting to the catcher position after playing first base for her travel team.

"We had a two-and-a-half-hour practice Wednesday -- in the hot sun with no shade," she said. "I ended up catching most of the time."

The other players found the all-star trip to be more relaxing. After arriving Wednesday, the baseball and softball players practiced before taking a boat ride around the Hampton area Wednesday night. Yesterday morning, the players showed up at the game with two bags -- one for their equipment and one with their overnight gear.

It was of special urgency for the baseball players, many of who played in the all-star game and then tried to beat the holiday traffic back to Richmond to play in American Legion games just a couple of hours later.

Paul Nice of Powhatan needed about two minutes to vacate the dugout after the game and head back for his game. He finished the all-star game with a double and a run in two at-bats.

Also having a big day was Douglas Freeman's Dustin Galbraith, who hit the game's only home run in the fourth inning. It came as a bit of a surprise, because he was named an all-star for his pitching talents.

"I wasn't really expecting that, so I was pretty excited," he said. "It's just good to come out here and face some good competition -- see how you rank among other people, because you don't get to see a lot of these guys."

Ronnie Shaban of Cosby also picked up a double and a run. The area's three other players all finished with a walk on their stat line: Jake Lowery of Cosby, Travis Lane of Mills Godwin and Jordan Walton of Lee-Davis. The constant lineup switching gave Walton the odd distinction of batting in the third and ninth innings, with nothing between.

Galbraith was one of the few players who didn't have to hustle back to Richmond after the game, but he also had big plans after his time in Hampton.

"I'm going to go eat with my family," he said. "I haven't seen them in a few days."
Contact Michael Phillips at mphillips@timesdispatch.com.