Mater Dei’s DeJardin Leads South All-Star Victory, 8-3

The South team took a 5-0 lead after two innings and glided to an 8-3 victory over the North in Tuesday’s Orange County High School All-Star baseball game at Anaheim’s La Palma Park.

Mater Dei shortstop Bobby DeJardin opened the game with a single for the South and didn’t slow down in the first five innings.

He finished with two singles and a double, three runs scored, one run batted in and two stolen bases. He was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. DeJardin was drafted in the 30th round by the Chicago Cubs, but said he will probably accept a scholarship to Loyola Marymount.

Don Snowden, the Fountain Valley pitcher and outfielder, was honored with the game’s Best Hustle after he aided the South with a single and a double, along with two innings of hitless relief.

Snowden, who was drafted in the 22nd round by the Minnesota Twins, has yet to decide whether he will enter the pros or attend college at University of Arizona, Cal State Fullerton or Orange Coast College.

The North was stymied by the powerful pitching of South starter Bob Sharpnack of Fountain Valley, but the South hit well against Canyon’s Leonard Damian. Damian was charged with six hits and five earned runs in his two innings.

DeJardin’s initial hit was followed by the longest hit of the game, a triple to the center-field wall by El Toro’s Scott Shockey, allowing De Jardin to score. Mater Dei’s Anthony Follico drove in Shockey for a 2-0 first-inning lead with a sacrifice fly to right.

Actually that ball was dropped by North right fielder Mike Connolly of Katella, and that was only the first in a series of fielding bloops and blunders committed by the North outfield with assistance, or rather a lack of it, from the dim Glover Field lights. The North had four errors, and the South had one.

The South increased its lead to 5-0 on Snowden’s double to left, which appeared to be slightly misplayed by Canyon’s Eric DeGraw, to open the second inning.

Bob Brucato of Mission Viejo then singled to score Snowden, and managed to take two bases when North center fielder Darren Tekely let a ball get past his glove. DeJardin hit an RBI double off Damian, and later scored on Dave Tinkle’s single, which was accompanied by another fielding problem by DeGraw in left.

The North, coached by Canyon’s Hi Lavalle, had better offensive luck when John Schilling of Santa Ana replaced Sharpnack on the mound in the third inning. Connolly, Sunny Hill’s Adrian Schicker, and Magnolia’s Carlos Gonzales each singled, and Connolly and Schicker scored after an error by South third baseman Jim Ingram of La Quinta.

DeJardin and Shockey scored in the fifth against pitcher Gonzales, who committed a throwing error and gave up an RBI triple to Follico, who holds the Mater Dei record for RBIs.

With the South leading 7-2, the North scored in the top of the fifth when Damian singled and pinch-runner Tekely stole second and was driven in by Valencia’s Troy Barnhart.

The South, coached by Mater Dei’s Bob Ickes, scored once more in the fifth. Gonzales walked Irvine’s Mike Henigan, who advanced on Chip Damato of Edison’s single, and scored on a delayed double steal.

The South victory evened the series record, 9-9.