59th Annual Lions Tournament opens

By Leanne Kenney

The 59th Annual Lions Tournament begins its four-day run today with 112 teams (including 40 teams from outside San Diego County) in seven divisions playing throughout the county.

Some of today's top matchups include:

Stockdale at El Capitan, 12 p.m.
La Costa Canyon at Grossmont, 12 p.m.
RB vs. Silverado at El Capitan, 3
Eastlake at Montgomery, 3 p.m.
Cathedral Catholic at Torrey Pines, 3 p.m.
Temecula Valley at Poway, 3 p.m.

There's more information online at the Lions Tournament Web site.

Here is a direct link to the tournament schedule.

The defending champions are:

Classic: Poway
Premier: Vista
AAAAA: Santana
AAAA: Serra
AAA: Sweetwater
AA: San Marcos
A: El Cajon Valley

Pool play continues through Wednesday. The top two teams in each pool advance to Thursday's semifinals. Semifinals winner play Thursday afternoon for their respective titles.

Here's some Lions Tournament history — including winners over the past 20 years — on how legendary San Diego High coach Les Cassie came to be its founding father. And here's a list of the dozens of major leaguers who have played in the tournament.

It's quite a history.

Another chapter begins today.