Billie Sue tournament celebrates 30th anniversary

Erik Vorsatz remembers running around the Burlingame Girls Softball fields when his dad coached his older sister.

Now Vorsatz has come full circle, as the BGS vice president is now coaching his daughter. He has added another title as well: co-tournament director of the Billie Sue Memorial Fastpitch Tournament, which is taking place this weekend at fields around the Peninsula.

His previous association with Burlingame Girls Softball means he was well aware of the significance of the Billie Sue tournament. Not only is one of the bigger tournaments to kick off the summer softball season, but now in its 30th year continues to honor a former player, Billie Sue Cunha, who died shortly after her ninth birthday in 1991. The tournament began the year after and, other than during the COVID pandemic, has been played every year since.

“I’m very familiar with this tournament,” Vorsatz said. “”I, personally, have a longstanding history with Burlingame Softball.”

Vorsatz went on to add that current league president, Meghan Dunne, was his sister’s teammate back then.

“Kind of funny how everything comes full circle,” Vorsatz said.

Because of what the tournament represents, the league pulls out all the stops to give the teams a first-class experience. Forty teams in four age brackets — 8U, 10U, 12U and 16/18U — will play a combined 93 games across four venues, beginning Friday and ending Sunday.

Ray Park will serve as kind of the tournament base, but games will also be played at Washington Park adjacent to Burlingame High School, Cuernavaca Park, as well as the newly renovated softball facility at Mills High School.

This is a “B” and “C” level tournament, with “A” status being reserved for travel ball teams. These teams are essentially the all-star teams for city-affiliated leagues.

Each team is guaranteed at least four games. They will play three pool games Friday and Saturday, before seeding each team and placing them in a single-elimination tournament bracket Sunday.

U8 and U10 teams play six-inning games with a time limit of 75 minutes. The 12s and 16/18s will play seven innings and get 80 minutes to finish games.

Games begin at 5 p.m. Friday, but Saturday is the bonanza, with all 40 teams playing two games each — beginning at 8 a.m. and the last games starting at 6 p.m.

While a few teams will be coming from the North Bay and East Bay, the bulk of the participants are from the Peninsula, which adds to the specialness of the tournament because many are very familiar with the Billie Sue story as well.

In fact, Vorsatz found, while looking through old photos of past tournaments, that many of the same leagues and cities they represent are still attending the tournament.

“I never knew that the Pacifica team used to be called the ‘Critters.’ Now they’re the Sirens,” Vorsatz said. “San Jose Quicksilver was part of the original tournament; Millbrae Mischief. ...”

Vorsatz found out really quick how popular this tournament is when team registration opened in mid-April.

“We had a waiting list within five days,” Vorsatz said. “I was surprised, but Jay Leslie (co-tournament director, longtime league president and now league commissioner) was like, ‘This happens every year.’”

Between his children and nieces, Vorsatz believes he’ll be involved with BGS for at least the next 10 years and, given his previous history with the tournament, it holds a special place in his heart.

“It absolutely does,” Vorsatz said. “Even this morning as I was re-reading on the history of the tournament, I couldn’t help getting a little teary eyed, thinking when this started and how it’s evolved over time.

“I remember being a little guy watching my dad coach my sister (in this tournament) and now I’m out there with my kids.”