North’s Stars Turn Bats on South for 11-0 Win

For 20 years, the Orange County All-Star baseball game has featured some of the finest senior players in what are generally close, exciting ballgames.

On Tuesday night, the North turned its bats on tradition by collecting 13 hits, including five for extra bases, for an 11-0 romp over the South in front of a capacity crowd in Anaheim’s Glover Stadium. The game was the most lopsided in the series since the North defeated the South, 11-0, in 1977.

The victory tied the series at 10-10.

The North opened an 8-0 lead before most of the fans had found their seats, and then six pitchers combined for a six-hit shutout.

The South’s only threat came in the eighth inning, when it got two hits, but North shortstop Tom Redington of Esperanza completed a nifty double play to end the inning.

“I’ve coached in four of these games and seen just about all of them, and that’s about as good as I’ve ever seen an all-star team play,” said Dave Demarest, South coach from La Quinta. “They had loads of talent and played to their potential.

“When they were good, they were good. When they were bad, they were good. They hit, pitched and played great defense. What more can you say?”

The North opened the game with three runs in the first inning. Troy third baseman Mike Case lined a 380-foot triple past South center fielder Danny Ontiveros of Saddleback, scoring two runs. Case then scored on a single by Servite’s Cory Wentz.

Case’s triple was hit farther than the home run he slugged at Dodger Stadium last week in the Warriors’ 7-4 win over Arlington for the Southern Section’s 3-A division championship.

Redington, who is reportedly considering a $100,000 offer from the Atlanta Braves, sparked a five-run explosion in the second inning with a three-run homer over the 345-foot sign in left-center.

“I had two strikes on me and I was just trying to make contact,” Redington said. “I got a pitch over the middle earlier and took too big of a cut and fouled it off. I was surprised when I got another pitch like that and drove it.”

Rancho Alamitos third baseman Craig Paquette added a two-run homer in the eighth inning.

Only 10 days ago, Coach Mike Curran had watched his Esperanza team lose its bid for a second straight 4-A title, when his team failed to score against Lakewood in nine innings and lost, 1-0.

“If I could have had just one of those homers (from Tuesday night) at Dodger Stadium (in the championship game),” Curran said. “Of course, if I would have had this team at Dodger Stadium, we would have won.

“(Tonight) it was nice to get out of the blocks with eight runs. I knew we were a good hitting team, but I didn’t figure to score this many runs.

“I had a little too much pitching for them. I think with this staff, they may have never scored.”

Case, who hit a triple and a double, drove in three runs and scored once, was named the game’s most valuable player. He will attend Fullerton College next year.

Bret Boone of El Dorado, son of Angel catcher Bob Boone, was named the game’s most hustling player. Boone hit a single and a double and scored two runs. He will attend USC in the fall.