PHOTOS: South captures victory over North in high scoring Orange County all-star game

Members of the South all-star team celebrate after Tuesday’s win. (Photos: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).

Tuesday’s 55^th annual Orange County All-Star baseball game at Glover Stadium gave the top local high school seniors in the county one last opportunity to showcase their talents in high school uniforms.   

The South squad, coached by Tony Nieto (Tesoro), pounded out 12 hits and outscored the North 11-8 in the game sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Anaheim. The North all-stars were coached by Anaheim Coach Mike Barrera.

The South improved its series lead to 30-23-1 (no game was played in 2020 due to the pandemic).  

USC commit Andrew Lamb (JSerra) was named the MVP following the game. Lamb went 4 for 4, including a two-run triple. He scored two runs and had two RBI and stole a base.

“It’s great to play in a game like this; it’s competitive and everybody wants to win, but everyone has a smile on their face,” said Lamb, who said he plans to train all summer to get ready for his freshman season at USC. 

Texas commit Casey Borba received the Mr. Hustle Award for his outstanding play. Borba, an Orange Lutheran standout, had three hits and was on base four times. He had the only home run of the game when he blasted a solo shot to lead off the seventh inning for the North. He scored a run and had three RBI. 

“It’s really cool to play in this game and even better to walk away with some hardware,” Borba said. “It’s really special to play one last high school game with all of this talent from the county.”

To see the slide show, click on the first photo:

The South pushed across three runs in the first inning to take an early lead. Mulivai Levu (Ocean View) drilled an RBI double, Blake Wilson (Santa Margarita) launched a sacrifice fly RBI and Levu scored on a passed ball to give the South a 3-0 lead. Wilson added an RBI single in the third to up the South’s lead to 4-0. 

Abbrie Covarrubias (Cypress) and Borba each had an RBI in the third inning helping the North closethe gap to 4-3. However, Levu crushed his second extra base hit of the game, a triple, and scored on a wild pitch to highlight the South’s two-run fourth inning as they extended its lead to 6-3.

Covarrubias and Borba each added an RBI in the bottom of the fourth inning as the North trimmed the lead to 6-5, but Jake Lambdin (Tesoro) hustled on an infield ground out and scored from second base to increase the South’s lead to 7-5. Later in the inning, Lamb drilled a two-run triple and the South upped its lead to 9-5 in the fifth.

In the top of the seventh, the North rallied for three runs. Borba led off by unloading a towering solo shot, his third hit of the game, over the center field fence, cutting the South’s lead to 9-6. Two outs later, a throwing error allowed Matthew Morrell (Cypress) and Dustin Robinson (Brea Olinda) to score as the North edged closer at 9-8.

The North had an opportunity to add more, but Alex Mascaro (El Modena) grounded out with the bases loaded to end the inning.  

The South added two more runs in the ninth to push the score to 11-8. Spencer Johnsen (Ocean View) came on in relief and shut the North down in the ninth inning to secure the win for the South. South’s starting pitcher, Hunter Long (Capo Valley Christian) was spectacular on the mound as he pitched the first two innings and struck out five batters.       

Nieto and Barrera both agreed that coaching in a game of this nature is an honor.

“This game features the best of the best in Orange County,” said Nieto. “The legacy of all of the great players who played in this game and went on to play in the major leagues is incredible. This is an honor to be involved in this game.”

“This game is fun, but once the game starts the players aggression kicks in,” said Barrera. “These guys want to play well and they want to win, and it’s such a wonderful honor to be a part of it all.”   

North’s assistant coach Shaun Hill from Fullerton said the whole experience is special.

“I’ve coached many of these guys since they have been 10, 12 and 14 year old kids in Little League and travel ball and it’s a special game,” said Hill.

The list of past participants is profoundly impressive. Players such as Aaron Boone, Gary Carter, Freddie Freeman, Tim Wallach, Mike Witt, Shawn Green, Nolan Arenado, Gerrit Cole, Randy Jones, JT Snow, Jaret Wright and many more appeared in this game as high school seniors and went on to play in the major leagues. 

—Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone