2 Simi Softball Teams Ready to Defend Titles

Two of the city’s softball teams that captured national titles last year are poised to defend their titles next month.

Both a 12-and-under and a 10-and-under team from Simi Valley have clinched spots in the Amateur Softball Assn.’s Southwest Regional Championship, the final stop for recreation players and the equivalent of a national tournament.

The tournament is scheduled Aug. 5-9. Games will be played in several cities depending on the age group. The older girls will play in Fort Carson, Colo., and the younger team will compete in Oakdale, Calif.

In 1997, the 10-and-under team captured its national title after several days of play in Sun City, Calif. The older girls brought home their trophies after rising from the losers bracket in games played in Canby, Ore.

Both teams are made up of players who participated in the city’s recreation league that started in January. All-star teams were then compiled from the regular season’s best players; those teams started play in June.

To reach this season’s national tournaments, Simi’s 10-and-under team came in first in both district and state qualifying tournaments. The 12-and-under team placed second in the same tournaments.

“The girls are very excited,” Bob Belanger, one of two coaches for the the 12-and-under team, said Wednesday. “I think we will do quite well.”

Belanger, whose daughter, Tiffanie, is on his all-star team, said the team has some of the best pitching in the state. Pitch speeds in this league can reach more than 50 mph, he said.

“It takes the whole team,” manager Marty Casillas said of the older girls. “It takes everybody on the field to make the plays and win the game.”

Diana Janke, whose daughter, Erica, will be trying to win her second consecutive national tourney, said she will attend, too.

“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity and twice as nice,” she said.

Each Simi Valley team needs to raise more than $10,000 to cover the cost of the trips.