These Women Win Now, Party Later : Bermuda Gold Has 3 Easy OTL Victories, Favored to Win Today

It seems as if nothing can stop Mary Ann Casillas from playing over-the-line softball.

She’s so serious about the game, she once played the game though six months pregnant.

“We all wore big shirts that year (1985) so nobody could tell I was pregnant,” Casillas said. “If (opponents) knew one of us was pregnant they would be hitting the ball in my direction all of the time, trying to make me dive. My husband said, ‘If you dive, you’re out of the game.’ ”

Even then, Casillas, a San Diego native, helped her team, Bermuda Gold Fine Jewelry, to a first-place finish.

This year, Bermuda Gold is the favorite to win the women’s open division of the 34th Annual World Championship Over-the-Line tournament at Fiesta Island. Championships in all seven divisions will be decided today, ending the two-weekend tournament.

The Fiesta Island tournament is a San Diego tradition known mainly for its party atmosphere.

But Casillas and her teammates Camille Medina and Tess Michelucci refuse to partake in the partying until after their final game of the day. They don’t even allow their children to watch.

“We take it real serious,” Michelucci said. “There is no partying before our games. We drink sodas all day. If you get beer in you, it really slows you down.”

Said Medina: “No bottles, no bowsers (dogs) and no babies. When the ball is up in the air and you’re ready to swing, you’ll hear your kids scream ‘Mommy.’ It’s pretty distracting.”

Saturday, Bermuda Gold dominated the women’s open division. None of the team’s three games advanced as far as the third inning. Games generally run five innings, but if one team has an 11-run lead after an inning, it is declared the winner.

Bermuda Gold’s won Saturday, 11-0, 12-1 and 12-1, to advance to today’s semifinals.

In the men’s open division quarterfinals today, Pat’s Ski and Sport plays Beachcomber, Number Five with a Bullet plays Zip’s Team Bozo, Doctor’s Choice Sunscreen plays Triple “T” and North County Window Cleaning plays Old Town Mexican Cafe-Encinitas. Games begin about 8 a.m.

Medina is the only original member of Bermuda Gold, which was formed in 1976. Casillas joined the team five years ago and Michelucci is in her first season with Bermuda Gold. Michelucci is familiar with the team, after having “been clobbered by them so many times in the past.” Bermuda Gold won the tournament in 1976 and 1977 and finished third last summer.