A.J. Young didn't get to go the playoffs this season so he wanted to make his presence Saturday in the 2012 all-star baseball game a memorable one.

Young's third hit of the game -- a two-run single in the seventh -- snapped a tie and lifted the North to a 12-11 win over the South in the Division IV Arizona Baseball Coaches Association game at Surprise Stadium.

Young, a standout for Gila Bend in his prep career and the game's most valuable player, got the North untracked with a strong first inning on the mound. He scored and drove in a run in the first inning when his team sent 11 batters to the plate and tallied six times. Young finished 3-for-3 with three RBIs. He allowed one run in three innings pitching and struck out four.

Young sat out the middle three innings and returned to catch the final three. His first-pitch, two-run single to center plated teammates Ethan Wiliams and Jake Tarver, who both singled in front of him.

"I was looking first-pitch fastball and a I got it," Young said. "I didn't mind pitching and catching. You have to change arm slots longer to pitch shorter to catch. This was definitely a nice way to end  my (high school) career. For me there is a lot of baseball after this."

Young committed to Utah two seasons ago and signed a letter of intent to play in the Pac-12 with the Utes in November.

Young's father and coach at Gila Bend, Donny Young, got to watch and coach from the dugout and see his son's final prep game.

"He works hard and it's paid off," Donny Young said. "That's the fun part. He wants to catch at Utah, but as long as they don't take the bat out of his hand he'll be good with it."

The North outhit the South, 17-9, but the North put together rallies in the fifth and sixth to erase six-run deficits twice.Valley Union's Rafael Martinez (three RBI) and San Manuel's Vinnie Valde (two RBI) keyed the North's comeback in those innings.

Valley Lutheran's Andrew Dufek  earned the victory for the North with three innings of relief. He allowed three hits and one run pretty much matching Young's stint on the hill.

Besides Young, the North got a pair of hits each from Williams, Tarver, Arizona Lutheran's Joe Burnside and Ben Grams, and Phoenix Country Day's Nic Meyer.