by Garland Cooper

The battle raged since before anyone can remember. A battle about which region of California is more dominating, the North or the South.

The South has Mexican food and famous surf while the North has trolleys and beautiful hills. The real question is: which region has the best softball?

At the ball field on Friday night, the debate raged on. In four games there was a Northern Calif., team competing against a Southern Calif., team. El Modena  (Orange, Calif.) faced Sheldon (Sacramento, Calif.). Camarillo and Freedom (Oakley, Calif.) matched up as was Esperanza (Anaheim, Calif.) and Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove, Calif.) and Canyon (Anaheim, Calif.) and Rodriguez (Fairfield, Calif.).

All of these teams made it through to the quarterfinal round. The winners of these games would compete in the semifinal on Saturday and one of them would be the ultimate champion.

The score ended on Friday with the South winning the North vs. South debate with three out of the four wins in the quarterfinal round. The North, however, did not go down without a fight.

Sheldon High School was the only Northern Calif., team to win a quarterfinal game. Jolene Henderson was a force to be reckoned with for the Huskies. She is undefeated in the tournament and has not recorded less than 11 strikeouts in each of her wins. She is supported by teammate Lindsey Ziegenhirt, who is her catcher, and a big hitter for the Huskies. Ziegehirt was the hero in a tight, extra inning game in which she hit a walk-off homerun with two outs in the seventh inning.

Camarillo proved that they can play with the best, and they have done so with depth on the mound. Despite her youth, freshman Sarah Shadinger is pitching with the experience of a senior. She continues to keep games close for her team, which helped lead them to the semifinals. Jennifer Manuel also is in the circle for Camarillo and has continued to win games for Scorpions not only with her pitching, but with her hitting as well.

Canyon's all-star Cheyanne Tarango performed on the mound and at the plate. The Tennessee-bound sophomore took all the team's wins in the circle and is a threat at the plate. She hit a homerun and has several extra base hits in the tournament.

Lastly, Esperanza also has the ability to split their pitching with Chelsey Anderson and Alexis Borden, which gives them an edge over much of the competition. They have had offensive support throughout their lineup, and senior Kristin Sharkey leads the team with her rare ability to hit for power and for speed.

It was determined Friday night in Huntington Beach that, in the Faster to 1st Tournament, hosted by Canyon (Anaheim, Calif.) High School, that the South wins over the North. However, Sheldon still has a chance to come back and take the championship trophy back to NorCal. The same championship that eluded them a year ago.

Which is the better region? The debate will never end, but for one night, the South reigned victorious over the North.