IRVINE – Justin Lopez of Villa Park drove in two runs and was named an MVP of the game as the South defeated the North, 3-1, in the Orange County Baseball All-Star Game on Wednesday at Great Park.
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The South won for the fourth year in a row and leads the series 33-23-1.
The game is for Orange County’s players who are graduating seniors.
Lopez drove in one run with a double, another run with a sacrifice fly and added a single. He received one of the game’s two MVP awards. The other went to the North’s Vaughn Sharp of Yorba Linda, who hit a triple and scored a run.
The game’s Hustle Award went to Foothill’s Brayden Bianchi, who had three stolen bases.
“Playing in this game is an honor,” Lopez said. “A lot of guys in our league, the Crestview League, got invited here, to catch up with the Trinity League boys, it was super cool.”
The South took a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Bianchi led off the inning with a single. He stole second and third base and scored on Lopez’s double.
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The North tied it in the top of the sixth. Sharp launched a fly ball to deep center field for a triple. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Gerardo Garflaz of Los Alamitos.
Two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning gave the South a 3-1 lead. Aliso Niguel’s Carson Etnire walked and advanced to second base on Bianchi’s single. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. A single by Beckman’s Kai Carney drove in Etnire and Lopez’s sacrifice fly sent home Bianchi to make it 3-1.
The game was organized and managed by The Ryan Lemmon Foundation.
Honored between the second and third innings were four retired coaches: Dave Demarest of La Quinta, Bob Flint of Irvine and Woodbridge, Bob Ickes of Mater Dei, and Bob Zamora of Capistrano Valley. They have more than 2,500 wins and many league and CIF championships among them.
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