Seating and parking? No problem. There’s plenty of room for cars, campers, motor homes, and fans to cozy up to the ball fields.
Diamond Valley Lake Community Park and its eight ball fields shines as the jewel of softball complexes in Southern California.
The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) must have agreed because it awarded Valley-Wide Recreation and Park District, and the Minor’s Gold Softball Organization the USA / ASA Class “A” Girl’s Fastpitch 18-Under National Championships.
More than 140 girl’s fastpitch teams from throughout the country will take part in the tournament, which runs from Aug. 2 to Aug. 8. at Diamond Valley and Winchester Park ball fields. Winchester has three ball fields and is a short drive from Diamond Valley.
“These are beautiful, absolutely gorgeous ball fields,” said Jan Bissell, the tournament’s event coordinator. “The ASA representatives told me they love these fields.”
Diamond Valley Lake Community Park offers great viewing for fans. Five of the fields are clustered in a circle of backstops. So if the action slows on one field, fans can take a short walk to one of the other fields.
The ball games start at 8 a.m. with the final game starting at 8 p.m. That’s seven days of non-stop action on 11 ball fields for eager softball fans wanting to see some of the best players and teams coming from states such as Florida, Oklahoma, Georgia, New York, Texas, Oregon, Washington – and practically every state wedged in between.
The teams will compete in pool play until Aug. 4th when double elimination starts to narrow the field down to the two finalist for the championship game scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 8th. (Championship game time yet to be determined.)
Many of the 18-year-olds have already accepted athletic scholarships to some of the top colleges in the country. But college scouts will be on hand taking a good look at the 16 and 17-year-olds.
And surely those scouts will have their speed guns aimed at the girl’s wearing the uniforms of the Hemet-based Minor’s Gold-Macias, and Minor’s Gold-Estarza teams. Since the 1990s, the Minor Softball Organization – led by Larry and his son, Larry Gene Minor – have won four national championships with several runner up and top five finishes.
This time of year usually finds the Minor’s ball clubs hitting the road for some distant national tournament. So having the tourney in Hemet has been a boon.
“Valley-Wide really expended the effort to bring this tournament here,” Larry Gene Minor said. “This is one of the nicest softball complexes in the U.S. Very few (cities) have eight fields at one location.”
The facility is ready. The tournament promise great action. But a few words of advice.
August in Hemet gets hot – the 90 to 100 degree kind. So players and fans, bring plenty of sunscreen, umbrellas to shield the mid-day sun, and seat cushions. Those aluminum bleachers can burn an unprotected backside. Fans, bring your lawn chairs, there’s plenty of room to watch the action down the left and right field lines at most of the fields.
And once the games are over for the day, the girls and families can cool off at the Valley – Wide Aquatics Center, less than 100 yards from the ball fields. Swim in the spacious pool, or take a ride down the two waterslides, or just relax under the covered tables that ring the pool.
As for Hemet, the city of 75,000 lies in southwestern Riverside County. The city billed by many as, “Hemet is Heaven,” has plenty of entertainment and recreation; and restaurants to satisfy anyone’s appetite. Let me offer a suggestion. I’m big on “Polly’s Pies Restaurant” on Florida Avenue by the Hemet Mall.
As the name implies, it specializes in pies – Apple, Apricot, Lemon Meringue, Boysenberry, and Old World Cherry. Of course, that’s for desert. The “homestyle” dinners include a chicken pie baked in Polly’s piecrust, along with a full menu of steaks, fish, pork chops, and turkey dinners.
And for the fishermen in the family, Diamond Valley Lake lies about two miles west of the ball diamonds. The lake also has miles of hiking and biking trails.
Hemet has much to offer, great restaurants, entertainment, recreation, and of course girl’s fastpitch softball. Don’t miss the action. Come to Hemet for the ASA 18-Under national championships.
Diamond Valley Lake Community Park is located at 1801 Angler Ave., Hemet, CA 92543. Winchester Park is at 32900 Haddock St., Winchester, CA 92596.
For more information, visit the ASA website at: Hemet ASA 18-Under National Tournament
And visit the Valley-Wide website at: Valley-Wide Recreation and Parks District
For more great fastpitch news, visit these websites:
Al’s Fastball
Fastpitch West
International Softball Congress
North American Fastpitch Association
2010 ISC World Tournament, Midland, Mich.
West Valley High School Football players have volunteered to help with the tournament.