Palihi Softball Coach Displeased with Playoff Seed

This has been a season to remember for the . The Dolphins won the title for the first time ever, but apparently that was not enough to earn them a home game in the opening round of the .

A seeding committee met Monday afternoon to determine the brackets for the Championship and Invitational divisions and Palisades is seeded 11th out of 16 teams in the Invitational bracket. Third-year head coach was baffled, particularly because the Dolphins beat Verdugo Hills 7-5 on a neutral field April 30, yet the Dons are seeded five spots higher at No. 6 and thus will host Palisades in the first round Friday at 3 p.m. in Tujunga.

"I am very upset with this seeding and feel our team and the Western League was disrespected by it," Marsden said. "We lost some tournament games where I was trying different girls in different spots and mixed up the batting order. The seeding committee pointed to some of those losses as the reason for our low seed. The problem I have is that we won the Western League outright and it has always gotten more respect when it comes to our playoff berths."

Should Palisades (13-7-3) beat Verdugo Hills it might have to travel to third-seeded Franklin in the quarterfinals next Tuesday. The Panthers will host either No. 19 Hamilton, which finished fourth in the Western League, or No. 14 North Hollywood in the first round. Those schools have a play-in game Wednesday.

Two other Western League teams are in the Invitational field, but both were give wildcards and must win Wednesday to earn spots in the main draw. Westchester, which was runner-up to Palisades, is seeded 13th and hosts No. 20 Bernstein while third-place Venice is No. 18 and travels to No. 15 Los Angeles. 

Verdugo Hills (14-6-1) finished in a three-way tie for first place in the East Valley League with Grant and Sun Valley Poly. In their to head-to-head meeting at the , the Dolphins trailed 4-3 after the first inning before outscoring the Dons 4-1 for the remainder of the five-inning game.  

"Basically they are considering us the No. 27 team in the City," Marsden said. "I guess if you aren't from the [San Fernando] Valley or Marine League you get no love. I'm hoping that Hamilton wins a couple games so we can play them [in the second round]." 

Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, which finished last in the Western League, is seeded No. 9 in the Small Schools Division and plays Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in the first round Thursday.

"I thought for sure that we would get a home game and feel as though the girls deserved one," Marsden said. "Now, it is time to prove people wrong and go run the table."

Semifinals are May 19 at the higher seeds and the finals are Tuesday, May 24, at Birmingham High School in Lake Balboa.

Palisades' junior varsity team is seeded third in the City tournament. Under head coach the Dolphins won the Western League on their way to a 17-0 record. Eight players earned honors, including pitcher .