High School: Los Alamitos (California) High Wins the Dave Kops Tournament of Champions

Oklahoma-commit Sophia Nugent, #3 in the 2021 Extra Elite 100, blasted a three-run homer and Southern Utah-bound Tyler Denhart got the complete game win to help Los Alamitos, CA, #7 in the Extra Elite Eighty High School Rankings, defeat Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta, CA, 6-2, in the championship game of the Dave Kops Tournament of Champions on Saturday night at Mohave High of Bullhead City, AZ.

The TOC, also known as the Bullhead City Tournament for years, is one of the top preseason high school tournaments in the nation.

“Just a great team,” Griffins coach Rob Weil said after the win. “Does this build for this weekend a lot of momentum going into league next next week? Our pitchers gained a lot of confidence and we hit the ball well, produced some runs, so overall I would give us a B+ for this weekend. I like the make up of this team.”

Said Nugent: “We are very excited. It was a great team win. We all played hard, we played for each other. We want to build on this momentum and keep it rolling into the rest of our season.”

Denhart, who pitched effectively all weekend including the title game, added: “It was a great weekend. The entire team played well every game. We hit well and made some great defensive plays. This is always an important tournament for us to bond as a team, which will help us as we head into league.”

Dee Dee Hernandez, a member of Mexico’s Junior National Team and #87 in the 2021 Extra Elite 100, took the complete game loss, but she also went went 2 for 4 with a solo homer for Crescenta Valley.

Utah-bound Ali Belarde, #31 in the 2020 Extra Elite 100, went 2 for 3 with two stolen bases and a run scored, South Carolina-commit Emma Sellers went 1 for 3 with an RBI, Diamond Sefe and Giselle Alvarez hit solo homers and Denhart threw a complete game with six strikeouts to lead Los Alamitos to a 4-2 victory over Ironwood Ridge of Tucson, AZ, the defending AIA Conference 5A state champion, in the semifinals.

Izzy Jamgotchian went 2 for 3 with a double, a homer and three RBIs and Hernandez tossed a one-hitter with seven strikeouts to lift Crescenta Valley to a 4-0 win over Mater Dei of Santa Ana, CA, to a 4-0 victory in the other semifinal.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi-bound Kayla Keith, who went 2 for 3, drove in Arizona-bound Allie Skaggs, #13 in the 2020 Extra Elite 100, with a single in the bottom of the fifth to give Ironwood Ridge a 2-1 victory over Mater Dei in the third-place game.

Abby Dayton, #27 in the 2022 Extra Elite 100, went 2 for 4 and drove in Kendalyn Macias with a fielder’s choice to second base to give Norco, CA, #2 in the Extra Elite Eighty HS Rankings, a 3-2 walk-off win in the bottom of the seventh over Big VIII League-rival Santiago of Corona, CA, in the fifth-place semifinals. Ashley Anderson and Washington-bound Sarah Willis, #7 in the 2020 Extra Elite 100, homered to lead a 12-hit attack for the Cougars in an overwhelming 13-2 victory over O’Connor of Phoenix, AZ, #17 in the Extra Elite Eighty High School Rankings, for fifth place.

— Carlos Arias, Extra Inning Softball (Follow Carlos on Twitter @Los_Stuff)