District 16 Little League softball all-stars ready to shine on diamond

With virtually a new cast of players on board, Dave Fox has been busy identifying the make-up of his District 16 Little League Major Softball All-Star team.

There’s been some things for Fox, who guided Crescenta Valley to the championship last season, to digest. The team will now be called Foothill and will consist of players from the Crescenta Valley, Foothill and Jewel City/Jewish War Veterans leagues. He’s also looking for a way to retain the title, realizing a steady Burbank team will be a major obstacle.

“It’s kind of going to be a younger team,” said Fox, whose team was set to begin the two-team tournament against Burbank at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Scholl Canyon Ball Fields with the championship game set for Wednesday. “We will have about three or four returners back from last season’s team.

“We played Burbank tough all year. A lot of the games could have gone either way.”

Burbank Major Manager Kim Dabbadie said a deep pitching staff will be a strength for Burbank, which will look to cool Crescenta Valley’s bats.

“We have four pitchers who we can go with,” Dabbadie said. “We are really excited and we have a good feeling about our team.

“We feel like we matchup well. We know it’s going to be a very competitive series.”

An if-necessary title contest would be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Scholl.

While the Major tournament will be the first out of the box, the District 16 10-11 champion was already recognized. The Burbank 10-11 All-Stars already punched their ticket to the Section 2 Tournament.

All tournaments are double-elimination format and the winners move on to the Section 2 Tournament in July.

The 9-10 Division will consist of three teams — Crescenta Valley, Foothill/Jewel City-Jewish War Veterans/Tujunga and Burbank. Crescenta Valley will battle Foothill/Jewel City-Jewish War Veterans/Tujunga in an opening–round game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Scholl. The winner will meet Burbank at 6 p.m. Saturday at Scholl. The championship game will be held at 7 p.m. July 1 at Scholl and an if-necessary title game would take place at 7 p.m. July 2 at the same location.

The Junior tournament will be the last group to hit the diamond. The two-team tournament, which will feature Crescenta Valley/Foothill/Vaquero and Tujunga, won’t start until 7 p.m. July 8 at Scholl.

The championship contest will be held at 7 p.m. July 9 at Scholl and the if-necessary title game would begin at 7 p.m. July 10 at the same site.

Crescenta Valley/Foothill/Vaquero co-Manager Drumond Schaffer said the extra time to prepare for the tournament will probably aid his squad.

“We have some time to get things done,” said Schaffer, who splits the managerial responsibilities with Will Thayer. “Our biggest challenge leading up to the games will be to get them to play together.

“We have good pitching, although it’s not as deep as we’d like it to be. We like our hitting. We’ll see where it takes us.”

District 16 will host the Section 2 Junior Tournament, which will begin July 15, with all contests being held at Scholl.

Scott Moro, the district’s volunteer administrator, said each of the divisions should have plenty to offer.

“They should all be highly competitive,” Moro said. “You’ve got the best athletes coming out and there will be good pitching and hitting.

“I think any team can take any given tournament.”
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Follow Charles Rich on Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich .