Rain. In Southern California, Rain is the worst forecast possible for a weekend. We can play through heat, cold, or wind, but we can’t play through rain (or bees). In other parts of the country, baseball fields are built with complex drainage systems. These parts of the country either have a small window of time to play baseball during the year, or they get heavy rain year round. With these drainage systems, they are able to get fields dry and playable in about an hour after the rain stops. The upside is the superior draining, but the downside is the cost. These systems are very expensive to install, and have to be done when initially building the fields. Most, if not all parks, in Southern California do not install these systems because we have a year round window to play baseball and we do not get a large volume or rain per year.
With the Spring Fling being at El Dorado Park in Long Beach, we were excited to be returning to Long Beach for our first of two tournaments this year. The fields at Long Beach are impeccable, including two fields with grass infields and a full sized 60’x90’ field with a permanent mound for 14-Under teams. They are maintained by an incredible crew, and it is always a relaxed and fun tournament. This is why a forecast of heavy rain on Wednesday and Friday did not bode well for us. The El Dorado fields handle water very well, but with the park just 5 miles from the coast line, they received the initial brunt of the storm. After the rain stopped on Friday, the Long Beach field crew worked all night and all morning to try to get the fields ready for play, but were unable get them safe enough for the players due to the amount of rain that fell. We would like to thank the crew for their effort, and look forward to being in Long Beach later in the year.
Spring Fling – April 14-15, 2012 – Big League Dreams Perris
Thankfully by the time the storm made its way to Big League Dreams Perris, it was not nearly as strong as earlier in the day. All Saturday games were pushed back an hour to allow field crews to do any last minute field maintenance, but after that we were good to play some baseball.
With 35 teams in the park, it was a full schedule with no shortage of close games. There were eight one-run games on Saturday and seven on Sunday. In the 10-Under, the Fallbrook Warriors upset the 1st Seed from Pool B to advance to the Championship Game against undefeated Cal Select. Cal Select kept their undefeated record intact and took home First Place. In the 11-Under division, undefeated Riverside Toros and undefeated Blacksox met in the finals, but it wasn’t easy to get there. Both teams had to fight in their semifinal games to win by one run each. The Riverside Toros took home the Championship trophy with a 7-4 win.
In the 13-Under Gold Bracket, the 3rd and 4th Seeds upset the 1st and 2nd Seeds with one run victories. Yates Baseball Academy worked hard for their 10-9 Semifinal victory, and then took home the First Place Trophy in their first USSSA Tournament this year. The 14-Under So Cal Barons went undefeated all weekend to take home the trophy with a one-run championship game victory.
Heritage – April 21-22, 2012
The Heritage is next weekend at BLD Riverside/BLD West Covina (Sunday playoff games only), Fountain Valley Sports Park, and Steed Park in San Clemente. There are still openings for teams in all divisions at all parks.
$50 from every entry fee will be donated to the Race for the Cure. Help USSSA Strike Out Cancer.
Spring Shootout – April 28-29, 2012
The Spring Shootout will be played at Big League Dreams West Covina (9U, 10U, 11U) and Big League Dreams Riverside (12U, 13U, 14U).
See you on the fields
-AC
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