OGDEN -- For some, it was the last stepping stone before moving on to collegiate or, perhaps, professional baseball. For others, it was the final real baseball game of their lives. For everyone involved, it was something they won't soon forget.
The South beat the North 7-2 in the 3-A Utah High School All-Star Baseball Game Saturday at Lindquist Field, but the players, all seniors in the last game of their high school careers, were mostly focused on simply soaking up the experience.
"It was way cool," said Ben Lomond's Orsindoe Hernandez, who walked in one of his two plate appearances. "I met a lot of new people, especially people I played against. It was cool to get to know them and talk with them. We kind of just bonded."
Locked in a 2-1 game, highlighted by effective pitching on both sides, the South used five straight two-out singles in a four-run sixth to break it open. From there, the South's pitching did the rest, holding the North to just four hits in the game.
Stansbury's Jake Witkowski got the North on the board in the fifth with a homer over the left-center field fence. In the eighth, Witkowski's fielder's choice scored the North's other run.
Regarded as the best professional prospect in the state, Spanish Fork's Kayden Porter worked two impressive innings on the mound without giving up a hit while striking out three. The North Carolina commit, known for his prodigious power, also went 1-for-2 with an RBI and walk at the plate.
Ogden's Joe Bischoff had one of the North's four hits, a seventh-inning single, and worked a scoreless eighth on the mound.
"I think this is one of the most fun experiences you can have as a player," said North coach Troy Kolan (Ogden). "You get to get together with all of these other guys from different regions. I think it's a cool experience for them to come out one more time and show what they have."
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