State All-Star Baseball : South Loses Starting Pitcher and Game; Best-of-3 Series Tied

Senior Wayne Helm of Laguna Hills High School almost saw his pitching career suffer a serious setback Saturday when the right-hander was struck by a batted ball on his pitching hand and had to leave after only one batter in the North-South High School All-Star baseball game at Billy Herbert Field in Stockton.

The North went on to win the game, 6-3, and even the three-game series at one game each.

Jim Floretino of the North lined a 1-2 pitch off Helm’s hand. Helm was taken to a hospital for X-rays that showed only a bad bruise and no serious damage. Helm was 7-3 with a 0.68 earned-run average and had 124 strikeouts for the Hawks this season.

Mark Juhas of Arcadia pitched into the fifth and took the loss for the South.

The North scored three runs in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead, but the South added one more in sixth when Robbie Katzaroff of Los Alamitos singled, stole second and scored on a throwing error by right fielder Ray Ortiz to make the score 3-2.

Ortiz made up for his error with a two-run home run over the left-field wall in the top of the seventh off Bill Lange of La Mirada to extend the North’s lead to 5-2.

The South had two runners on in the bottom of the ninth but Irvine’s Bobby Hamelin struck out to end the game. Hamelin had doubled homeKevin Clancy of Esperanza in the bottom of the first to give the South a 1-0 lead.

Rocky Ynclan and Mark Walker combined to throw a four-hitter for the North.

“It was just one of those nights,” South Coach Dave Demarest of La Quinta said. “Last night we had 19 hits and tonight we get only four. Who knows what will happen tomorrow (Sunday).”

Left-hander Steve Halwig of Esperanza will start today for the South.

In action from late Friday night:

South 17, North 8--Katzaroff had a bases-loaded double in the first inning and was 4 for 5, including a home run, to help the South. Katzaroff added his first home run in the fourth inning. The South scored five runs in the first inning on four hits and five walks to take an early lead. Hamelin was also 4 for 5, scored three runs and had an RBI. Eric Cox of Southern Section 4-A champion Esperanza was 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Tim Lindsay of Arcadia was the winning pitcher.