EL SEGUNDO — South Bay seniors relished an opportunity to participate in the South Bay Athletic Club All-Star Baseball Classic.

The game is competitive and provides the winners with some South Bay bragging rights. But it is more about the camaraderie and bonds that form between the players on both squads.

In Monday night’s game, the National All-Stars, behind strong pitching, defeated the American All-Stars 3-2 at El Segundo’s Rec Park.

“I’m just happy for them (the players),” said El Segundo coach Billy Traber, who coached the National team in Monday’s contest. “They get to enjoy themselves, make new friends and new memories.

“Honestly, it’s a reward for hard work, not just from this season, but their entire career. It’s just nice to be a part of it.”

The National team got a strong group effort on the mound from Carson’s Anthony Dorado (two innings, two strikeouts), San Pedro’s Mason Mendoza (two innings, three strikeouts) and El Segundo’s Sam Forthuber (two innings, five strikeouts).

Mendoza picked up the win and Forthuber got the save. Mendoza also drove in the winning run.

“It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it, I just tried to stay focused and make my pitches,” said Mendoza, who struck out the side in the fourth inning. “Even though we were all rivals, still we are a family. It’s a great feeling (to be chosen to play). I love it and I plan to continue to play in college at El Camino.”

The National squad scored first with Chase Williams (St. Bernard) drawing a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the second. That brought home Eric Mirabel (North Torrance), who reached base with a double.

The American All-Stars rallied with two runs in the third. Ben Lee (El Segundo) drove in Cedric Taylor Jr. (St. Bernard) and Edward Sanchez (Wiseburn Da Vinci) made it 2-1 with a sacrifice fly that brought home Seth Rodriguez (Lawndale).

The National team retook the lead in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, Cody Pierson (South Torrance) singled, followed by a walk to Forthuber. Peyton Tate (Wiseburn Da Vinci) tied the game with an RBI single that scored Pierson. Mendoza hit a double that scored Forthuber for the go-ahead run, 3-2.

Mendoza and Forthuber then shut down the American squad over the next four innings to finish off the victory.

After allowing two baserunners to reach in the fourth, Mendoza struck out three consecutive batters to end the threat. He followed that with a perfect fifth inning before turning it over to Forthuber to finish the game.

“It’s pretty awesome considering it’s our last game here as seniors,” Forthuber said. “It’s great to see all the best talent and pitch against the best of the best in the area.

“It’s really an honor (to pitch in the game). I’m really glad I did well and to get a save was awesome. I met a lot of new people today and made some new friends.”

The American squad received strong pitching as well. Reef Sharman (West) pitched two scoreless innings and struck out four. Dylan Sawin (Mira Costa) pitched a scoreless inning with three strikeouts.

“I just tried to go out there and do my best and it worked,” Sawin said. “This was a great way to cap off a special season.”

Sharman called the contest “really exciting.”

“I just wanted to do my best,” he said. “I felt really good on the mound. Not a lot of people get to do this. I’m blessed to be out here.”

Home run derby

Mateo Rickman (Torrance) won the home run derby that was held before the game. He hit eight homers, and Lucas Schermer (Mira Costa) hit seven.

“It’s been a blessing to play with all this talent from around the South Bay and get to create a little relationship in the four hours we got to spend with them,” Rickman said. “It was a lot fun (home run derby). I just tried to barrel the ball as much as I can and if it goes out, it goes out.”