It was a two-hour trip from Cottonwood to Surprise, but Tyler Herndon made it all worthwhile.

The outfielder from Mingus High had a pair of hits, part of a 21-hit outburst by his North teammates, and he drove in three runs in an 18-7 victory over the South in the Arizona Baseball Coaches Association Division III All-Star Game on Saturday (June 1) at Surprise Stadium.

Herndon, who is headed to Eastern Arizona Junior College in Thatcher on a baseball scholarship, clutched his game MVP award and joined Mingus teammates and fellow All-Stars Andrew Garcia and Robert Valentine for a few celebratory photos afterward.

“The trip was definitely worth it,’’ Herndon said. “It was a team effort, for sure. I was fortunate to get an opportunity for some timely at-bats.’’

Mingus fell to eventual state champion Fountain Hills in the quarterfinals, “but we still had a solid season,’’ Herndon said. “I was happy to be here with my teammates and enjoy one last game wearing a Mingus uniform.’’

Herndon also played football and basketball at Mingus, but he is eager to go on to EAJC, “play baseball and see where that takes me.’’

The North took a 3-0 lead in the first inning in the nine-inning contest, but the South pulled even in the second. Each team scored a run in the third, and the North opened things up again with a three-run fifth. A run-scoring single by Herndon in the fifth put the North ahead to stay.

The North team, coached by Fountain Hills’ Mike Briguglio and Holbrook’s Brady Pond, met for the first time on Friday (May 31) at a field in Fountain Hills. It wasn’t necessarily a strategy session, but the players seemed to bond pretty well, according to Briguglio.

“I really didn’t tell them too much, just “This is the culmination of your high school career. Go out there and enjoy yourself.’ ’’

Collecting 21 hits certainly will bring a lot of joy.

The players also executed when the moment called for it.

“We put on five hit-and-runs, which was huge,’’ Briguglio said. “We were successful on three of them, and the ones where we didn’t make contact, we got stolen bases out of it.’’

Lakeside Blue Ridge pitchers combined to take control on the mound. Kevin Spencer earned the victory and Matt Farrar got credit for the save.

Buckeye’s Dillon Castillo, Safford’s Andrew Ornelas and Jake Scott of Phoenix Scottsdale Christian drove in runs for the South.

North second baseman C.J. Ripka of Page played a fine all-around game. He had a hit, scored three runs and played solid defense.

“The city (of Surprise) and the AZBCA did a great job with this event,’’ Briguglio said.