Mustangs forfeit 5 games

Bryce Alderton

The Costa Mesa High softball team’s quest for a second straight

Golden West League title took a severe blow with news the squad will

have to forfeit five games (four Golden West League and one

tournament contest) for using an ineligible player, Costa Mesa

Principal Fred Navarro said Tuesday night.

The Mustangs would have entered today’s clash at Ocean View with a

5-2 league mark following their 8-0 victory over Saddleback Friday,

but instead find themselves 1-6.

“I feel very badly for the young lady and for the girls. They have

worked hard,” Navarro said.

The ineligibility stems from the player, who transferred from the

Santa Ana Unified School District and began taking classes at Mesa on

March 11, failing to provide the CIF Southern Section with a bona

fide change of residence, Navarro said.

The girl moved in with a relative and the family filled out a

caregiver affidavit, Navarro said.

A caregiver affidavit confirms a student lives with a guardian,

other than the student’s parents, Monday through Friday and attends a

school within that district, Navarro said.

“We always tell students they must have a bona fide change of

residence, but it is hard to explain to someone who has moved in with

a relative that they don’t automatically become eligible to play a

sport,” Navarro said. “It was a misunderstanding on the families’

part, but it was an honest mistake. Everyone involved could have done

a lot more to make sure it didn’t happen.”

Navarro said he routinely checks caregiver affidavits.

“I wish we would have done it sooner,” he said.

Navarro sent an e-mail to athletic directors and principals of all

seven league schools Monday, confirming Mesa would forfeit the games.

“It is too bad because [Mesa] is a good team,” Estancia Girls

Athletic Director Nancy Ferda said. “I hate to get a win like that.”

The Mustangs defeated the Eagles, 6-0, April 14.

“[The] Mustangs beat us handily, so it is unfortunate. They are

one of the better teams in our league,” Estancia Coach Marc Rodig

said. “Maybe CIF will overlook that and [the Mustangs] will get in

the playoffs with a wild card if they finish up strong.”