Tolzin Fired by Camarillo : Softball: Popular coach let go after illegal practice cost team playoff victory.

Darwin Tolzin, whose illegal Sunday practice cost the Camarillo High softball team a playoff victory last week, has been told he will not coach the Scorpions next season.

On Friday, a day after the Scorpions celebrated their Marmonte League championship at the team’s annual awards banquet, Tolzin gathered the players and told them he had been fired.

“Everyone was pretty much in shock,” said junior Jessica Ziese. “We were wondering why. A lot of the girls were really hurt.”

Principal Terry Tackett refused to comment on the matter, calling it a personnel issue.

Tolzin did not return phone calls Friday.

His dismissal came on the heels of the Scorpions’ ouster from the playoffs because Tolzin practiced with a player on a Sunday. Southern Section rules prohibit any games or practices on Sundays.

After the Scorpions beat San Marcos in a second-round Division I playoff game on May 22, Camarillo junior outfielder Jefflyn Spahr told reporters her three-hit game was because of extra batting practice she had taken with Tolzin the previous Sunday.

Tackett investigated May 23 and determined no violation had occurred, but the next day he received a phone call from someone who claimed to have witnessed the illegal practice. When Tackett investigated further, he realized he “had not been told the truth,” he said last week. The Scorpions then forfeited the victory over San Marcos.

Since the forfeit, parents and players have been upset over rumors that Tolzin would not be retained for next year, which would be his eighth at the school.

Karen Mendoza, the mother of freshman catcher Jessica Mendoza, presented Tackett with a petition signed by about 150 parents who supported Tolzin.

“We indicated in the petition that we agreed [the practice] was wrong,” Mendoza said. “What he did and what happened subsequent to the incident was wrong, but you can’t condemn the man. We’re not condoning what he did, but we are not condemning him either. People make mistakes.

“I just don’t know that there’s anyone out in the community who would spend the time and care about the kids as much as Darwin Tolzin has.”

A group of players also met with Tackett to defend Tolzin.

“We told Mr. Tackett what he meant to us and what a good coach he was,” said Ziese, the Marmonte League player of the year. “[Tolzin] told us he shouldn’t have lied, but I think he was just doing it to protect us. He didn’t want to see 17 girls suffer for something he did.”

Simi Valley Coach Suzanne Manlet, the only coach who has been in the Marmonte League longer than Tolzin, said she sympathized with Tolzin, to a point.

“I think he’s a great coach and I really feel bad about it,” she said, “but I think he knew the rules.”

* Contributing: Rob Fernas.