If you’re looking for a sports-filled pride, make sure you take a break from the festivities to take in a few games at the West Coast Women’s Baseball Classic (WCWBC), coming to San Diego this Pride weekend.

“I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for the tournament to provide another source of entertainment for folks coming into town,” said tournament director Chris Hill. “Plus, some of the players that are coming into town are going to be able to enjoy some of the Pride activities that are going on … when they are not playing.”

After a multi-year hiatus, women’s baseball has returned to San Diego in a big way. The newly established Southern California Women’s Baseball League (SCWBL) has just completed its third week of play, and the first annual WCWBC is scheduled for July 25-27.

“This is going to present an opportunity for women to get together and play some good quality baseball,” Hill said. “There are very few tournaments throughout the U.S., with the exception of the national championship tournament. I think this is going to be the largest women’s baseball tournament this year.”

The WCWBC will feature five teams from the West Coast in a competitive round-robin tournament. San Diego’s very own California Sabres Women’s Baseball Association (CSWBA) will be playing host to the Arizona Fire, two teams from San Francisco and the Los Angeles Mavericks.

“This is the first year for the San Francisco league, so the two teams coming from there are unknown quantities,” Hill commented. “I think we have a lot of good players coming into town and so I expect a lot of good competitive baseball from a lot of the teams.”

The teams feature some of the best women’s baseball players on the West Coast and include players from Chicago and Florida. Games will be played at Grossmont High School and San Diego Mesa College, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Friday, July 25, at Mesa College. The championship game, where the two teams with the best round robin tournament records will face each other, is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 27, at Grossmont High School.

Women’s baseball is turning out to be a hit in San Diego this summer, with the SCWBL in full swing. Currently the Silverhawks are in first place, with a 3-0 record, followed closely by the Bandits and Waves. In this last weekend’s game, the Silverhawks defeated the Waves by a score of 4-2 at Morley Field. The Silverhawks were led by the power hitting of Kim Hoover, who pounded a 2-RBI triple in the third inning. League play will resume on Aug. 3 with a doubleheader at Hourglass Field number 6 in Mira Mesa, beginning at 10:00 a.m. For complete tournament and league schedules, as well as other women’s baseball information, visit www.playwomensbaseball.com.