Valencia Looks Like Championship Material

Teams that won the Irvine Woodbridge softball tournament went on to win Southern Section titles each of the last two seasons, and Valencia looks like a good bet to make it three in a row.

Valencia (15-1), which has never advanced past the section quarterfinals, defeated Corona, 3-0, in a tournament semifinal and Lake Forest El Toro, 7-4, in the final Saturday.

“Just because we’ve beaten those teams doesn’t mean we’ve won a championship, it just means we’ve won a trophy,” said Donna Lee, the only coach Valencia has had in its 10 seasons. “But it gave us a good indication of where we are.”

Valencia has won nine in a row.

Lee credited her seniors, second baseman Whitney Lowe (Lehigh), shortstop Breanne Javier (Central Florida), catcher Mallory DiFatta and pitcher Courtney Baughman (Hawaii). Its greatest strength is its defense and its ability to convert other teams’ mistakes. With Taylor (10-1) pitching, Valencia has two juniors, three sophomores, and a freshman in the lineup. And, there are no “stars” per se -- no player has more than eight runs batted in.

-- Martin Henderson

Baseball

Anaheim Esperanza left-handed pitcher Kelby Aase will undergo elbow surgery next week and will sit out the rest of the season, Coach Mike Curran said.

Aase, the son of former Angel pitcher Don Aase, was 3-0 with a 0.71 earned-run average. He signed with Nevada Las Vegas.

Curran said Aase suffered the injury before his start against El Cajon Valhalla in a semifinal of the Placentia El Dorado National Classic on March 30. He gave up one hit in five innings of the 6-1 victory.

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Simi Valley players looked dejected Friday afternoon following a 3-2 loss to host Simi Valley Royal that ended the Pioneers’ nine-game winning streak and dropped them into the middle of the Marmonte League pack.

Everybody, that is, except Bryan Anderson, a senior catcher who realizes there could be plenty of innings to be played if Simi Valley (12-5 overall, 3-3 in league) can qualify for the postseason.

After the Pioneers finished third in the league last season, they entered the Southern Section Division II playoffs as a wild-card team and went on to win the program’s first title.

“If you’re in the Marmonte League, anything can happen,” Anderson said. “You just have to get to the playoffs, that’s the main thing.”

--Dan Arritt