Softball: I swear, one major upset is followed by another
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I swear to you, this is true. The following three paragraphs were on my laptop when I got an update from the big softball tournament that continues through Saturday.
The word on the street is that Garden Grove Pacifica, ranked No. 6 by The Times, was beaten in the first round by Long Beach Wilson, 8-3, in the Nike Faster to First softball tournament at the Huntington Beach Sports Complex.
That’s a huge victory for unbeaten Wilson that provides a major boost in credibility points. Pacifica reached the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions in Bullhead City, Ariz., before losing to Valencia. And now, the Mariners have lost in the first round? To Wilson?
Absolute stunner. The tournament will be hard-pressed to find a bigger upset; 14 of the 26 teams are in StudentSports.com’s top 50 preseason ranking.
I swear to you, this is what I was told in the update:
‘Kennedy just lost to Ayala, 4-3, in 10 innings. A girl from Ayala hit a two-run homer in the ninth to tie, and they went to the tie-breaker in the 10th so they had a girl on second base, and the girl hit a ground ball and instead of going home she threw to first base.’
So I was wrong. La Palma Kennedy, the No. 1 team in the Southland and the nation, was beaten by Ayala. I believe that result trumps Pacifica’s loss.
I swear to you that’s the way it happened.
-- Martin Henderson