Youth Softball Teams Flock to Town this Weekend

By Randy Frey

What started out last year as a small, intimate softball gathering has almost doubled in size this year as close to 30 softball teams from all over the Bay Area gather in Los Gatos and Saratoga this weekend for the 2009 Alexis Briski Memorial Softball Tournament.

Sponsored by the Los Gatos-Saratoga Girls Softball Association's Magic program, the event will help fund two scholarships that will be awarded to graduating seniors at Los Gatos and Saratoga High Schools beginning next spring.

Alexis Briski was a promising softball pitcher whose arm unexpectedly broke about two years ago. Tests revealed bone cancer, and Alexis, after courageously fighting the disease for more than a year, lost her battle with osteosarcoma in May.

The local league decided to rename its tournament in her honor, and teams from as far away as Carmel are coming to Los Gatos to play softball in her honor this weekend.

With the added teams this year, the tournament will be played at four sites instead of just the two used last year.

There are seven 10U teams that will play round-robin games Saturday at Foothill School in Saratoga. The local Magic 10U team will play games at 8:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Alexis' sister Annika plays for the Magic 10s.

There are eight teams in both the 12U and 14U divisions. 12U games will be played at Blossom Hill School in Los Gatos. There are two Magic teams in the division, and one of them will be playing in each of the six time slots.

Half of the 14U games will be played at Blossom Hill School as well, with the Magic playing at 8:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The other four 14U teams will play at Saratoga High School, with the local Magic team playing during the same time slots.

The 16U division will play its Saturday games at Los Gatos High School. The Magic will play games at 9 a.m., noon and 3:30 p.m.

Everything will funnel to Blossom Hill School on Sunday, with the 10U championship game at 12:30 p.m. and the 12U, 14U and 16U championship games being played simultaneously at 4 p.m.

There will be a barbeque and snack shack at Blossom Hill School as well as Jamba Juice sold on site. Several local Craft and Boutique vendors will also be on hand, with 15 percent of their proceeds being donated to the scholarship fund.

A small raffle will also be held, with tickets selling for $1 each, seven for $5 and 20 for $10. Among the prizes are an autographed football by Buffalo Bills quarterback Trent Edwards and a Juicy Laptop case.

Members of the Stanford and Santa Clara University softball teams will also be on hand at Blossom Hill school to sign autographs.