Historic season comes to an end for IVGSL 10-U All Stars
EL CENTRO — Imperial Valley Girls’ Softball League President James Clark previously explained that the league’s decision to bring back its all-star program last summer after five years of not fielding any teams “was to give the kids more opportunity than playing just here in the Valley.”
By the time the season ended on July 15, the team was both well traveled and accomplished.
At the start of their season May
2, the 10-U All-Stars decided their ultimate team goal would be to compete in the annual State C-Regional Championships, which could only be achieved if they performed well in district and state sectional play.
“We knew that the type of players we had, and that they could go as far as their potential would allow them to,” 10-U All Stars head coach Richard Rodriguez said. “We knew that regionals was a high standard for these girls, and it really motivated them. They saw it as a welcoming challenge.”
A hard-fought second place finish in their district tournament and ninth place finish in the Southern California state tournament eventually earned the girls a spot in the 2018 State C-Regional Championships.
The team’s appearance at regionals was a milestone, as it was the first time an IVGSL team of any age division had ever made an appearance at the regional level, Rodriguez said.
“To us, it was a proud moment to be able to compete at the regional level and to represent IVGSL,” he said.
At regionals, the team finished in third place out of 21 teams as they won three of their four games.
“This was a great accomplishment to not just make it this far, but actually place out of 21 teams,” Rodriguez said.
The All-Stars finished with an overall season record of 26-10 and competed in a total of 36 individual tournament games.
“We would get a plan for every single tournament,” Rodriguez said. “We would then strategize the pitching rotation and make sure that the girls fully understood how many games we would be playing on a certain day to make sure they would stay well rested and hydrated.”
Prior to their post-season play, the young squad finished in second place at the UC Del Sol tournament with a record of 4-1; in third place at the Murrieta tournament, going 6-3, and in second place at the Coronado tournament, winning four of five.
Rodriguez believed the Murrieta tournament was the toughest tournament the team competed in all season.
“It was on a Sunday, and we had to play four games with about an hour break in between,” he said. “All we did was try to keep motivated. They just played their hearts out to get to the semi-finals on Monday, which was on Memorial Day. We ended up finishing in third place.”
In the South San Diego District Tournament held June 17 to June 23, the 10-U All Stars finished in second place as they were able to win six out of their eight games.
The team’s second place finish secured them a spot in the 2018 Southern California State Championship tournament held in Lancaster from June 29 to July 1. At the state tournament, the AllStars won two of their four games and finished in ninth place out of 41 teams.
The top 12 finishers in the state tournament earned a spot at regionals. Out of the six SDS-C District teams that competed in the state tournament, the All-Stars were the only team to move onto regionals.
As the only team representing the Southern San Diego region, Rodriguez recalled that competing in regionals was a special and exciting experience.
“At regionals, you could tell it was different atmosphere,” he said. “Every team you played against was a team that also qualified from their state tournament, so we just felt that excitement and energy of everyone stepping up their game a little more, and we had a little more to prove.”
The regional tournament, which was held July 13 to July
15, was hosted by California State Games and featured softball teams from all across California, Nevada and Arizona. The All-Stars only loss came in their semi-final game of the tournament against Crescenta Valley, 7-2. Crescenta went on to win first place in the tournament.
“Having the players’ commitment, desire and love of the game is what contributed to our success this season,” Rodriguez stated. “It was their desire to practice and learn new game situations.”
Rodriguez said he hopes his team’s appearance in the regionals motivates other players within IVGSL. “I hope that it encourages the younger IVGSL players to continue practicing and to continue playing.”