Centennial senior Cade Ahearn rounded second and saw third base coach Brandon Estrain waving him to the bag.

With the South Team leading 5-2 in the top of the sixth inning of Monday night’s 42nd Brooks Robinson High School All-Star Game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Ahearn launched a ball over the center fielder’s head for a two-run triple.

Rising to his feet, Ahearn screamed “Let’s go,” sprinting around the same diamond he’s admired since he was a child as an Orioles fan.

Ahearn was one of 31 high school seniors throughout Maryland selected for the annual senior showcase, and his extra-base hit broke the game open as the South Team closed out an 8-4 win. Ahearn and Great Mills’ Ryan Brown, who was named the South Team Most Valuable Player, each had a game-high three RBIs.

“It was just about everything I hoped it would be,” Ahearn said. “It was a blast. I’m happy I squeezed a little triple out there. I wasn’t going to go hitless. I had a blast. The field was perfect, the day was perfect. It was an absolute great time.”

The players were joined in the dugout by 1973 American League Rookie of the Year and longtime Oriole Al Bumbry, who cracked jokes and coached up the players as they soaked in what it felt like to be on a major league field.

Scoreless for the first two innings, Glenelg’s Danny Dorsey started things off for the South Team in the third. He later came around to score the game’s first run on a sacrifice fly from Ahearn. The North Team responded in the bottom of the fourth with two runs, highlighted by an RBI single from Jackson Inman (Good Counsel). Right fielder Danny Orr (Thomas Johnson) prevented any further damage with a diving catch.

The South Team’s offense fed off their defense in the ensuing inning as Brown delivered the go-ahead two-run double in the gap, his second hit of the game. They maintained that momentum with a five-run sixth, which started with hits from Tha’Mon McGriff (Arundel) and Dorsey. Soon after, Orr and Ahearn roped back-to-back hits that drove in four runs and put the South Team in control.

Matt Donaldson (Crofton) and Zach LaFountain (Glenelg) combined for the final six outs for the South Team. Several other Baltimore-area players had standout performances; Dorsey and Chase Kamerman (Marriotts Ridge) each finished with two hits.

Kamerman, who is an Astros fan, has been to Camden Yards as a fan many times. Playing on the big stage, he took a deep breath each time at the plate and reiterated the importance of having fun. Dorsey and Kamerman were two of seven Howard County players on the rosters.

“It’s fun because I don’t really get to spend much time with them on the field,” Kamerman said of the Howard County camaraderie. “When I’m with them on the field, we get to talk.”

Monday night’s game won’t be defined by the score, however. It instead will be a lasting memory for those in attendance and on the field. Families and friends beamed with pride as 31 student-athletes soaked in a glimpse of what it’s like to reach the sport’s pinnacle.

“Just the first time stepping on this field,” Ahearn said of what he’ll remember most. “I’ve seen it so many times. I was here last night. I’ve been coming here since I was young kid. Stepping here on this field for the first time and really seeing that it is a game. You watch the game on TV and you think, ‘This game is massive.’

“My goal is to play here more than just this one time. You step on this field and realize, ‘I’ve played this game before, this is still baseball.’ We put it on a pedestal and we look up at it saying, ‘Wow, I hope I’ll be there.’ A day like today, really gives you the confidence that I can be here.”