Strong Field Heading for Thousand Oaks

The Thousand Oaks High softball tournament is only days away, and competition doesn’t get much better.

When the tournament starts Saturday, eight of The Times’ top 10 regional teams will battle for the coveted Green Bracket title. Four other teams in the tournament have been ranked in the poll earlier this season.

The only ranked teams missing are No. 1 Crescenta Valley and No. 9 Quartz Hill.

But their absence is their loss.

Crescenta Valley (16-1), which plays in a fairly weak Pacific League, could use the tournament’s tough competition to prepare for the playoffs a few weeks away.

Several first-round matches spark interest. No. 7 El Camino Real has perhaps the toughest test with an opener against Cerritos, ranked No. 1 in Southern Section Division II.

Cerritos, led by ace Jessica van der Linden, is a high-caliber team the Conquistadores rarely encounter in the City Section.

No. 2 Thousand Oaks against Valencia pits the region’s speediest team against Lauren Watson, a top defensive catcher.

No. 5 Harvard-Westlake against No. 10 Calabasas is a rematch which promises to have a completely different look than the March 15 game.

Two Calabasas starters, including ace Amy Rosson, did not play in the first game and two other Coyote players who have committed to Division I colleges played in only the last three innings because of disciplinary reasons. Harvard-Westlake won, 13-4.

Two of the region’s best power hitters will go head-to-head when No. 3 Hart opens with Newbury Park. Jocelyn Evans of Hart and Oli Keohohou of Newbury Park are sure to turn a few heads.

No. 4 Camarillo opens against Chaminade, a team on the rise since losses to Mater Dei, Cerritos and Foothill.