Santa Ana Elks Tournament Has Look of the Century

The 1988 Santa Ana Elks baseball tournament is saturated with Century League teams. But then, why should this year be any different?

The 24th annual tournament features four of the six Century League teams, with Foothill, Santa Ana, Santa Ana Valley and Villa Park playing in Saturday’s first round. Canyon and El Modena are the only league teams that will not compete in the 16-team tournament, which runs Saturday through Wednesday.

Like most six-team high school leagues, the Century League has three rounds of league play, with teams playing each other three times.

However, Santa Ana Coach Bill Ross, whose Saints are off to a fast start in league play with a 2-0 record, has no concerns about an extra game or two against teams from his league.

“In baseball, you get 21 outs and the talent will usually show, no matter how many games two teams play,” Ross said.

But Canyon Coach Hi Lavalle refuses to play in the tournament. Instead, the Comanches will compete in the Anaheim Lions tournament, which also begins on Saturday.

“We play those guys three times during league, and I don’t have any particular desire to play them any more (than that),” Lavalle said. “We want to play someone different in a nonleague situation. I like to shuffle things around a little.”

The Santa Ana tournament committee is careful not to pair league teams against each other in the first round. The pairings are drawn from a hat, but if league teams are picked for a first-round game, the pairings will be juggled.

“We do that for any league,” Ross said. “There are three South Coast League teams in the tournament this year. We wouldn’t let them play against each other in the first round, either.”

In Santa Ana first-round games:

El Toro plays Diamond Bar at Rancho Santiago College (10:30 a.m.); Foothill plays Orange at Rancho Santiago (1:30 p.m.); Laguna Hills plays Irvine at Santa Ana High School (10:30 a.m.); Santa Ana plays host to Banning (1:30 p.m.); Los Alamitos plays Saddleback at Villa Park (10:30 a.m.); Villa Park plays host to Fontana (1:30 p.m.); Mission Viejo plays Santa Ana Valley at Tustin (10:30 a.m.), and Tustin plays host to Millikan (1:30 p.m.).

In the Anaheim Lions tournament:

At Glover Stadium, Woodbridge plays Savanna (10 a.m.); Cerritos plays Canyon (1 p.m.); La Quinta plays Dana Hills (4 p.m.), and University plays Fullerton (7 p.m.). At Brookhurst Park, Western plays Sonora (10 a.m.); Garden Grove plays Westminster (1 p.m.); Troy plays Rim of the World (4 p.m.), and Riordan plays Kennedy (7 p.m.).

In the Bolsa Grande tournament:

Bolsa Grande plays host to Estancia (10:30 a.m.); Santa Fe plays Artesia at Bolsa Grande Field 2 (10:30 a.m.); Orange Lutheran plays Dominguez at Rancho Alamitos (1:30 p.m.); Rancho Alamitos plays host to Costa Mesa (10:30 a.m.); Newport Harbor plays Lynwood at Los Amigos (10:30 a.m.); Santiago plays Capistrano Valley at Rancho Alamitos (1:30 p.m.); Glenn plays Leuzinger at Bolsa Grande Field 2 (1:30 p.m.), and Los Amigos plays host to La Mirada (1:30 p.m.).