Redington, Boone Help South to 12-9 Victory

For most of the season, Esperanza and El Dorado high schools, rivals from the Placentia Unified School District, were not only the Empire League’s best baseball teams, but all of Orange County’s.

Esperanza was ranked No. 1 in the Orange County Sportswriters Assn. poll and El Dorado was second for most of the season.

Much of the teams’ successes can be credited to Tom Redington of Esperanza and Bret Boone of El Dorado. Redington, The Times’ Orange County Player of the Year, and Boone, an All-Orange County selection, had memorable seasons. Redington hit .366 with 9 home runs, 30 RBIs and was walked 38 times. Boone hit .500, had 10 home runs and 31 RBIs. Both were drafted--Redington by the Atlanta Braves and Boone by the Minnesota Twins.

Sunday they showed the rest of the state what they could do in the finale of the California All-Star baseball series at the University of San Diego.

Redington was 3 for 3 with two walks and three RBIs and Boone was 3 for 5 with a double and a 390-foot home run as the South won the series by defeating the North, 12-9. The South also won Friday, 6-0, but lost Saturday’s game, 9-8.

Redington and Boone were selected to an 18-player state team that will compete against Oklahoma all-stars Friday through Sunday at Stockton. Redington was named the South’s Most Valuable Player and Sacramento Valley’s Fernando Vina was the North MVP.