San Diego Prep Review : Tournaments Provide Experience

For many San Diego prep baseball teams, preseason tournaments can be the season’s most competitive and stressful segment.

For example:

The outcomes of the Crawford and Moose-Hilltop tournaments were in doubt until the final out Saturday. Christian High School had to come from behind against Serra and then hold off a last-inning rally to win the Crawford tournament, 7-6. Mission Bay beat Grossmont, 4-2, in extra innings to win the Moose-Hilltop tournament.

“There was a lot of tension in that final game,” said Dennis Pugh, Mission Bay coach. “I think it showed we can win under pressure. The kids really could have just folded, but they didn’t.”

Coaches say tournament play prepares teams for the season-ending pressure of competing for a playoff spot.

“I think it puts a little more pressure on the players,” said Jerry Huson, Christian coach. “With a tournament, you have a short-term goal, rather than a far-off goal like winning league at the end of the season. In the Crawford tournament, we had to come back and beat two (teams) who beat us before. It helps build momentum.”

But whether that momentum can propel a team to a successful season is debatable. Two years ago, Lincoln won the county’s biggest tournament--the Lions’--but finished a distant third in the City Central League. Last year, Christian lost the Crawford tournament final, but went on to take the City Central title.

“It supposedly means you’re the best team in the tournament, but a team can just be hot for a few games,” Huson said.

Mission Bay’s and Christian’s victories, however, probably were not flukes. Although both teams won in part because of errors, both look to be in playoff contention this year and both have strength and depth where it really counts: their pitching staffs.

“We’re luckier than most teams because we have a lot of pitching,” Pugh said. “We look at (tournaments) as a way of getting a good look at all our pitchers. (This year’s pitching staff) is one of the best groups I’ve ever had.”

Because of rain-outs, the Crawford and Moose-Hilltop tournaments had to be concluded in three consecutive days last week. After one day’s rest, those same teams are playing doubleheaders today in the Lions Tournament. The teams that make the finals Wednesday will have played five games on four different fields in three days.

“I think it’s too heavy for high school pitchers,” Huson said. “It’s going to be tough. My pitching is kaput. We’re not coming in fresh.”

Nonetheless, Huson said he is more confident going into the Lions Tournament than he was before Crawford last week.

“I think this last tournament was tougher,” he said. “In our classification in the Lions, we’re in with all these 1-A schools. We’ve already beat 3-A schools.”

Karen Shibuya understands the meaning of deja vu.

Two weeks ago at San Diego High School, Shibuya scored the goal that led Bonita Vista to the 3-A girls’ soccer title. Saturday night, she returned to San Diego High for an encore as a member of the 3-A all-star team. She scored the only goal as the 3-A stars defeated the 2-A, 1-0.

“It was a nice way to end my high school soccer career,” Shibuya said. “I really liked being able to play with all these really good players.”

Two of the all-star teams featured several of her Shibuya’s former teammates on Tsunami, a youth soccer club.

“It was nostalgic,” she said. “I got to play with a lot of people who I used to play with when I was younger. It was neat being able to play with them again.”