Don Ketchum
Former Staff Writer, AZPreps365.com

Big hits from Chaparral sluggers give D-I North stars win

June 1, 2014 by Don Ketchum, AZPreps365


The men from Scottsdale Chaparral High are not slap hitters.

They have plenty of pop in their bats.

The power display came on Sunday night as first baseman Marshall Forest and outfielder Andrew Shaps led the North to a 6-4 victory over the South in the Arizona Baseball Coaches Association Division I All-Star Game at Surprise Stadium.

One inning after Shaps launched a two-run home run to right field in the fourth inning, Forest ripped a double to the base of the fence in deep center field with the bases loaded and two outs for a 5-2 lead. The North got its final run in the eighth with the help of a South error.

Phoenix Horizon right-hander Trevor Horn earned the victory and Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor righty Corey Wilson picked up the save by setting the South down in order in the bottom of the ninth.

The first three innings were crisp with both teams’ pitching staffs throwing well.

Then things began to slow down as the bats started to warm up.

Shaps’ shot, with no one out in the fourth, followed a leadoff single by Phoenix Pinnacle’s Kobie Foppe.

The South came right back with two runs in its half of the fourth on an error and a run-scoring single.

In the top of the fifth, Glendale Deer Valley’s Dustin Higgins led off with an infield hit. The South appeared as if it was going to get out of further trouble with two straight outs, but Mesa Red Mountain’s C.J. James walked , Sandra Day O’Connor’s Degan Harte was hit by a pitch and Forest came up with his big hit.

Stolen bases and another error allowed the South to pull to within 5-4 in the bottom of the fifth. The South got a pair of hits in the sixth but could not put anything on the board.