Yucaipa in national tourney

The Yucaipa baseball team will play in the National Classic beginning Monday in Orange County.

The Thunderbirds (7-2, 3-1) open tourney play at 2 p.m. Monday at Esperanza High School against Christian Brothers of Memphis, Tenn. Yucaipa is led by pitcher/infielder Matt Davidson (.429 batting average, 3-1 on mound), Matt Marnati (.485 BA) and pitchers Scott Snodgress and Adam Miller. Snodgress and Miller are committed to Stanford and BYU, respectively.

Another team familiar to some area fans might be nationally ranked Aptos of Santa Cruz County. Six members of the Aptos team played on the Little League team several years ago that won the West Region title in San Bernardino and advanced to the World Series in Williamsport, Pa. Kevin Eichhorn is a star pitcher for Aptos and his father Mark Eichhorn, the former big-league pitcher, is an assistant coach. The Mariners open Monday vs. Seminole Ridge (Fla.) at 2 p.m. Monday at El Dorado High School.

Also, Vista Murrieta plays West Linn (Ore.) at 10 a.m. Monday at El Dorado High.

The event, which is also using the field at Cal State Fullerton and Champions Sports Park, runs through Wednesday.