Softball: Carew Classic again boasts a stellar field

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

One of the most eagerly awaited softball tournaments of the season arrives today/Wednesday as the Michelle Carew Classic, presented by Anaheim Canyon High, gets under way at Peralta Park in Anaheim Hills. This is the 21st annual tournament, the 12th since the name change honoring Rod Carew’s daughter who succumbed to a rare form of leukemia. Pictured is the marker and statue honoring Michelle near Gate 3 at Angels Stadium.

There are 10 teams among The Times’ top 25 in the 24-team field, including four of the top five teams and seven of the top 12.

The marquee game today is No. 10 El Toro vs. No. 8 Lakewood at 5:30 p.m. Another big game is No. 17 Esperanza vs. No. 18 Vista Murrieta at 3:15 p.m. The winner of that game will play at 7:15 p.m., against No. 5 Ayala, provided it defeats California.

First round games determine to which side of the bracket teams advance; they then play two pool-play games to determine the semifinalists.

Ayala, the darling of the Nike Faster to First tournament a couple of weeks ago, when it defeated La Palma Kennedy and Corona Santiago -- at the time ranked No. 1 and 2 in the nation -- could be in Pool C that includes No. 4 Norco and Esperanza or Vista Murrieta.

Pool A could include The Times’ No. 11 Anaheim Canyon and No. 19 Garden Grove Pacifica. Pool B could include No. 3 Valencia and El Toro or Lakewood. Pool D could include No. 2 Kennedy and No. 12 Wilson.

Valencia and Kennedy met in the title game each of the last two seasons.

The semifinals are Saturday about 1:15 p.m., and the championship is at 7:30.

-- Martin Henderson

-- Image from www.hmdb.org