Ryan Lemmon spring baseball tournament returns April 2-6 with finals at Great Park

The Great Park stadium will be home for the championship of the Ryan Lemmon Invitational. (File photo: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

Thirty high school baseball teams will be competing in the Ryan Lemmon Invitational at the Orange County Great Park and Ryan Lemmon Stadium, according to tournament director Dick Owens.

Owens and Guy Lemmon run the tournament, which is named after the late Ryan Lemmon, a former Woodbridge High baseball star.

The tournament will start on Saturday, April 2, then continue on Monday, April 4, Tuesday, April 5 and wrap up with the championship game on Wednesday, April 6 at 7 p.m. at the Great Park main stadium.

“We feel that this year our teams are very strong,” Owens said.

Among the teams are Aliso Niguel, Woodbridge, Beckman, Irvine, Northwood, Brea Olinda, Dana Hills,  Corona del Mar, Newport Harbor, Trabuco Hills, Portola, Villa Park, University and Segerstrom.

There are also three teams from Utah.

The tournament returns to the format of previous years with games at two locations. Last season, due to the coronavirus pandemic, most games were held at high school home sites.

Admission will be charged to attend with money benefitting the Ryan Lemmon Foundation, which runs the tournament, Owens said. Irvine and Woodbridge high school volunteers will be running the snack bar.

Villa Park won last year’s tournament defeating Dana Hills 7-2 and returns to defend its championship. Twenty-six teams competed last year, but none of the Irvine teams could be involved because the Pacific Coast League went with a 24-game league only schedule. The tournament was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Games at the Great Park will be held at the stadium and adjacent fields.

Opening day schedule on Saturday, April 2

(All games at Great Park)

8:45 a.m. GP-9, Elsinore vs. Viewpoint

9 a.m.,m GP St 8 Trabuco Hills vs. Laguna Beach

9:15 a.m. GP St 1 Beckman vs. Aliso Niguel

11 a.m., GP St 10 JW North vs. Segerstrom

11:45 a.m. GP St 9 Dana Hills vs. Newport Harbor

Noon, GP St 8 Corona del Mar vs. Northwood

12:15 p.m. GP St 1 Canyon vs. Irvine

2 p.m., GP St 10 Marina vs. San Clemente

2:45 p.m. GP St 9 Yorba Linda vs. Northview

3 p.m. GP St 8 Esperanza vs. Wood Cross

3:15 p.m. GP St 1 Brea Olinda vs. Bountiful

5 p.m. GP St 10 Calvary Chapel vs. Paramount

5:45 p.m. GP St 9 El Modena vs. Portola

6 p.m. GP St 8 Villa Park vs. University

6:15 p.m. GP St 1 San Juan Hills vs. Woodbridge

–Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com