While the Section 5 All-Star Softball majors (11-12) tournament
at Gilroy High officially kicks off Saturday, the hometown team
won’t take the field until Sunday at 11am.
Gilroy – While the Section 5 All-Star Softball majors (11-12) tournament at Gilroy High officially kicks off Saturday, the hometown team won’t take the field until Sunday at 11am.
Host Gilroy has a first-round bye in the three-team tourney and will play the winner of the first-round matchup between Sunnyvale and North Valley of San Jose in its tourney opener on Sunday.
The winner of that game moves on to the finals on Tuesday at 6:30pm. The loser must play Monday at 6:30pm against the loser of the first game, with the winner moving on to Tuesday’s finale. To win from the loser’s bracket, the team must win two in a row against the undefeated team. An “if necessary” game would be played on Wednesday at 6:30pm.
Gilroy Little League softball information officer Jeff Sosa said this year’s Gilroy team has a good chance at winning the sectional tournament and moving on the Northern California championships next week.
“This is a really good team, probably the best Gilroy has had in last few years,” Sosa said. “This is the same group that won the state championship in minors (two years ago).”
The NorCal winner qualifies to play in the Western Regionals, and the regional champion earns a berth in the Little League Softball World Series in Portland, Ore. in August.
Traditionally, teams must play in a divisional tournament to qualify for sectionals.
But since there are so few teams in Section 5, which is comprised of teams from the South Bay Area, divisional play was skipped.
All games will be played on the Gilroy High varsity softball field.
Meanwhile, the Gilroy Little League softball minors all-stars begin Section 5 tourney play on Saturday at 10am at Sunnyvale Middle School against North Valley of San Jose.
