June 6, 2007

Kordich has grand time as South all-stars win
By STEVE FRYER
The Orange County Register

ANAHEIM Adam Kordich looked skyward, reflecting upon the question.

The Dana Hills senior was asked how many grand slams he now had hit in his baseball life.

"Uh, let me think," he said, smiling. "One."

That one and only grand slam led the South to a 6-4 victory over the North in the Orange County All-Star Baseball Game on Tuesday at Dee Fee Field at La Palma Park.

It was the 40{+t}{+h} edition of the game, which is organized by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Anaheim for charity. The South leads the series, 22-18.

Kordich, who has a 4.0 grade-point average and will attend Chapman University, hit his grand slam with two outs in the fourth inning. He was named the game's most valuable player.

"What a beautiful time to do it," Kordich said. "I couldn't ask for a better place for this to happen."

Kordich hit his home run off of Orange Lutheran's Daniel Renken, a Cal State Fullerton signee who was 8-3 with a 1.91 ERA.

"He blew a couple of fastballs by me," Kordich said. "I was expecting a change-up, but I got another fastball."

Freddie Freeman of El Modena won the game's Mr. Hustle award after going 2 for 2 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored for the North.

Three other home runs were hit. Mac Sullivan of Los Alamitos hit a two-run homer in the first inning for the North,

Foothill's Matt Reyes of the South hit a solo homer in the sixth, and Katella's Erik Hempe of the North hit a solo homer in the seventh.

Edison's Justin De Marco drove in the South's other run with a single in the fifth.

As usual, the game featured a plethora of pitchers. The North used seven pitchers in the nine-inning game, and the South sent seven to the hill, including JSerra's Corey Kohnke, who struck out five over the final two innings.

Sullivan's homer gave the North a 2-0 lead that stood until Kordich's slam in the fourth. De Marco's RBI made it 5-1, and Freeman's RBI single drove in Christian Colon of Canyon to cut the South lead to 5-3. Reyes' homer made it 6-3, and the North closed the scoring on Hempe's home run.

The North turned two double plays, one to end the first inning and the other to end the ninth.

Cypress' Josh Vitters did not play, following the suggestion of advisers as he approaches Thursday's major-league draft. Vitters has been projected by Baseball America to be an early first-round pick.