The Bonita Valley Girls Amateur Softball Association’s 12U Gold team secured a third-place finish at last weekend’s United States ASA 12B Western National championship in Medford, Ore. Bonita Valley finished 7-2 in the 39-team double-elimination bracket.
The tournament took place between July 27 and Aug. 2.
Bonita Valley opened play on July 28 with a 2-0 victory against the LGCS Magic in pool play. Bonita Valley, the Southern California champions, then defeated the South Valley Storm, 13-1, on July 29 to conclude pool play with a 2-0 record.
Bonita Valley started bracket play on July 30 with a 6-4 win over the San Mateo Slammers and defeated the Rohnert Park Rebels, 7-5, the following day in another close game before. Bonita Valley shut out PQGSA, 9-0, on Aug. 1 to collect its third consecutive bracket victory.
As one of four teams remaining in the winners bracket, Bonita Valley took the field against likewise unbeaten Thousand Oaks on Saturday evening. Thousand Oaks won, 5-1, to advance to Sunday morning’s semifinal and drop Bonita Valley to the losers bracket.
Scripps Ranch edged Goleta Valley, 5-4, to meet Thousand Oaks in Sunday’s winners bracket final. Thousand Oaks defeated Scripps Ranch, 5-3, to advance to Sunday afternoon’s championship game.
Bonita Valley played three back-to-back games Sunday morning in a bid to battle back through the elimination bracket to get a second shot at Thousand Oaks.
Bonita Valley eliminated Temecula, 6-2, in the team’s early morning game at 8 a.m. Bonita Valley then advanced to meet the Goleta Thunder in a 10 a.m. matchup, with Bonita Valley pulling out an 8-7 victory to advance to the challenger bracket final against Scripps Ranch at noon.
Scripps Ranch won 6-2 to eliminate Bonita Valley and advance to the championship game. Thousand Oaks won the division championship by routing Scripps Ranch, 9-1, in the tournament finale, scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.
Southern California teams flexed their collective muscles by winning 14 of the 17 pool-play contests on the opening day of the tournament. Bonita Valley squeaked past Northern California champion Los Gatos, 2-0, in the day’s marquee match-up. Pitcher Enissa Weakley scattered six hits to make Bonita Valley’s two-run, three-hit first inning offensive output stand up.
In another opening day match-up, Alpine rallied past Montana state champion Electric City, 6-2, while two other state associations were victorious: Goleta (Central California) and Flame (Washington).
Southern California ASA teams claimed seven of the 10 No. 1 seed positions following the conclusion of pool play. Bonita Valley, Goleta, Placentia Yorba Linda and Temecula each won by run-rule decisions while El Rio, Thousand Oaks and Scripps Ranch also nabbed advantageous top seeds with narrow victories.
Sixteen teams emerged unscathed during the opening rounds of bracket play. Bonita Valley rallied from a 4-2 deficit with three runs in the top of the seventh inning to stave off San Mateo, 6-4. Arisa Tovar’s two-run go-ahead single thwarted the upset bid by San Mateo.
Ten of the 16 undefeated teams followed the opening day of bracket play were from Southern California, four more from Northern California, one from Central California and also Washington and Montana.
The Southern California dominance of the tournament was even more pronounced with seven of the eight quarterfinalists hailing from the lower portion of the Golden State. Bonita Valley punched its ticket into the Round of Eight by holding off a late charge by Rohnert Park to claim a 7-5 triumph. El Rio, Thousand Oaks, PQ Lightning, Placentia Yorba Linda, Scripps Ranch and Temecula also advanced.
Thousand Oaks punched its ticket to the winners bracket showdown against Scripps Ranch by pelting Bonita Valley with 13 hits to claim a 6-1 victory. Scripps Ranch, meanwhile, advanced by scoring four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to stun Goleta 5-4.
Entering the final day of competition, six teams from Southern California remained in championship contention, including Thousand Oaks and Scripps Ranch in the winners bracket and four more teams in the elimination bracket. Also alive alongside Bonita Valley in the elimination bracket were Santa Monica, Goleta and Temecula.
Bonita Valley survived two elimination games to draw a rematch against Scripps Ranch. Included was an 8-7 nail-biter over Goleta.
Thousand Oaks relegated Scripps Ranch to the elimination bracket match against Bonita Valley after overcoming a 3-0 deficit.
Following Scripps Ranch’s elimination win over Bonita Valley, the championship game proved to be one-sided as Thousand Oaks finished with 12 hits and was never threatened by Scripps Ranch.
Thousand Oaks jumped to a 4-0 lead after three innings. Pitchers Kimi Stafford and Kylie Chung blanked Scripps Ranch for four innings and Hannah Glad triggered the run-ahead rule with a walk-off RBI single with two out in the sixth inning.
Thousand Oaks finished first, Scripps Ranch finished second, Bonita Valley finished third, Goleta finished fourth while Santa Monica and Temecula tied for fifth and El Rio and Yorba Linda tied for seventh.
The top eight place-finishers in the tournament, in fact, were from California, including seven from Southern California. Overall, 10 of the top 12 teams were from California, including eight from Southern California, one from Northern California and one from Central California.
The tournament also held a skills competition. Bonita Valley’s Melanie Johnson finished fourth in the base-running competition to receive a $25 gift card.
