For the past several days, people kept asking Metro Sports Report officials how many fans were expected for the Japan-Metro All-Star Classic Tuesday night.

The stock answer was "anywhere from 50 to 500," never dreaming the actual total might approach 500 for the international contest at the Kennedy High School baseball field.

Nobody will ever know exactly how many folks jammed the ballpark, but one informal head count topped 400 and some people thought it was higher than that.

Suffice to say, the game between the Metro All-Stars and a touring team from Yamanashi, Japan was a smash hit.

The Metro All-Stars built a 10-1 and claimed a 10-6 victory on a beautiful night for baseball that left everyone with big smiles -- even the folks from Japan.

"I thought it was a really neat experience for players, coaches, fans," said Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer, who led the Metro club. "Just a huge crowd. And well-played baseball. Well-pitched for the most part. Some guys with some big hits. It was a neat deal."

Cody Bell and Logan Ambrosy, who formed a strong 1-2 punch for Kennedy this past season, belted home runs and Prairie star Brayton Carlson hit two triples and drove in four runs as the Metro All-Stars grabbed a 10-1 cushion after five innings.

The visitors from Japan battled back and got a two-run homer from Katsushi Ono in the eighth inning and a three-run blast from Shingo Tsuchiya in the ninth to make it interesting.

The Japanese team finished its six-game tour of Iowa with a 3-2-1 record. They played all of their previous games in central Iowa and never drew more than 100 fans.

"It was a fun atmosphere to play in," said Addison Johnson, a top defensive catcher from Marion High School. "The crowd was more than I expected. I didn't think that many people would come."

There were television cameras from KGAN/FOX 28 and KCRG, a reporter and photographer from The Gazette and Hall of Famer Bob Brooks from KMRY radio.

The Metro Sports Report, which presented the game, covered the event with two reporters and two photographers and had three members of its advertising sales staff selling commemorative T-shirts and programs.

Tyler Hedtke, a lefthander from Marion High School, pitched the first three innings for the Metro All-Stars and allowed only one run. Alex Hayden, an elite all-state pick from Kennedy this year, pitched three scoreless inning of one-hit ball and got the victory.

Carlson finished 3-for-4 with two runs, two triples and four RBIs. Ambrosy went 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Chance Tiedtke from Jefferson was 2-for-2. Devon Jacobus from Kennedy drove in two runs and sparkled at shortstop.

"It was a lot of fun," Jacobus said. "Pretty laid back for the most part. It was a fun atmosphere to play in."

Like most people, Jacobus was impressed with the big crowd. "I expected a couple of parents here and there," he remarked.

All 15 members of the Metro All-Star team were graduated seniors who are headed to college, including 12 of them who hope to play college baseball next season. They got to play one final game with their Metro friends on a special night.

"Overall a great experience and a completely different style of baseball," said Johnson, who is headed to Blackhawk Community College to play ball. "It was a great night."

The Metro Sports Report and the Kennedy Baseball Support Group hosted the game. The sponsors were Carlos O'Kelly's, Genghis Grill, Bloomsbury Farm, Iowa AAU and the Cedar Rapids Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Japanese team stayed with local host families Tuesday night and will visit Bloomsbury Farm in Benton County Wednesday morning before heading back to Des Moines. They will return to Japan later this week.

YAMANASHI, JAPAN (6)

Fukushima, rf, 2 2 2 0, Tsuruta, 2b, 2 0 0 0, Nibori, ph/2b, 1 1 0 0, Ogura, 1b, 4 0 0 0, Yudasaka, lf, 1 0 1 0, Tsuchiya, ph/lf, 2 1 1 3, Mitsui, p, 3 0 0 0, Suzuki, ph/rf, 2 0 1 1, Tamagawa, cf, 2 0 0 0, Koike, ph/cf, 2 1 1 0, Tsuruda, 3b, 2 0 0 0, Yoshioka, ph/3b, 3 0 1 0, Kuwabara, c, 2 0 1 0, Ono, c, 3 0 1 0, Takabe, ss, 0 0 0 0, Nakamura, p, 1 0 0 0, Hirama, p, 1 0 0 0, Takabe, ph, 1 0 0 0. Totals 34 6 9 6.

METRO ALL-STARS (10)

Velvick, cf, 3 1 0 0, Redmond, cf, 2 1 0 0, Carlson, 2b, 4 2 3 4, Jourdan, 3b, 1 0 0 0, Bell, 3b/1b, 3 2 1 1, Jacobus, ss, 4 0 1 2, Ambrosy, rf, 5 1 3 2, Hayden, dh/p,2b, 4 0 0 0, Hedtke, p, 0 0 0 0, Johnson, c, 2 0 0 0, Lizarraga, c, 2 0 0 0, Mattke, 1b, 2 1 1 0, Hedtke, pr, 0 1 0 0, Stolley, 1b/p, 1 0 0 0, Tiedtke, lf, 2 1 2 0, Lloyd, lf, 0 0 0 0. Totals 35 10 11 9.

Yamanashi         100 000 023 -  6  9  1
Metro All-Stars  202 420 00x - 10 11 1

W - Hayden. L - Mitsui. 2B - Fukushima, Suzuki. 3B - Carlson 2. HR - Tsuchiya, Ono, Bell, Ambrosy. SB - Fukushima, Redmond, Carlson, Ambrosy.