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Here’s our TLI for Monday, Nov. 21, 2022:
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EXTRA ELITE SPOTLIGHT: SOPHI MAZZOLA
Washington-committed IF Sophi Mazzola, #85 in the 2024 Extra Elite 100, recently talked to Extra Inning Softball about St. Louis Chaos 18U, defensive training, getting stronger, Alliance Nationals, Corona Angels, psychology, Washington, Michael Jordan, Kanye West, “Gilmore Girls” and Christmas trivia.
EXTRA ELITE SPOTLIGHT Q&A
Name: Sophi Mazzola
Hometown: Eureka, MO
High School: Eureka Senior High
Club Team: St. Louis Chaos 18U
Graduation Year: 2024
Height: 5-foot-10
Position: IF
Nickname: Soph
Twitter: @MazzolaSophi
Honors: #85 in the 2023 Extra Elite 100; 1st team All-Region; 1st team All-District; 1st team All-Conference; and led her high school team with nine offensive categories.
Travel Ball Highlights/Summer Stats: As a 16-year-old playing up with the older girls, she was second on the team hitting .337 and several other offensive categories.
High School Highlights/Stats: .457 AVG, .901 SLG, 24 runs, 37 hits, 13 doubles, 4 triples and led the team in nine offensive categories.
Tell us about your travel team/organization and how you became involved with them? The St. Louis Chaos is an organization that is primarily focused on developing players with the correct attitudes, skill and the drive to play at the collegiate level. My aunt, Maggie Viefhaus, played on the second ever Chaos team, coached by Bob Furrer, Russel Cooper and Randy Viefhaus. Growing up watching my aunt Maggie play at the University of Michigan, I discovered my love for the game too! When it was time for me to play select softball, I played on an 8U Chaos team, and I have been in the organization ever since! I’m so thankful for the preparation and the opportunities the St. Louis Chaos has brought me throughout the past 8 years. And I am forever grateful to where this organization has brought me today!
What are some of your training methods/training routine? When it comes to defensive training, I love to go to my local dirt fields with my aunt Maggie and my sisters to do some glove work, range work and learning good hops and bad hops through groundball reps. For my offensive training off the tee, I do drills specific to my swing and what I need to work on, and I like to put myself in game situations and visualize the play unfolding. Off front toss. I like to focus on barreling the ball and hitting everything middle away.
What areas are you focusing on/trying to improve this fall? This fall and offseason, my main goal is to get stronger in the weight room and to work on my explosiveness. As well as keeping my glove work fresh and perfecting my swing.
Can you tell us about your experience at Alliance Nationals this summer? This summer, my teammates and I had a great time at the Alliance Nationals in Indiana! We had the opportunity to play great competition and we got to play some of the best girls in the country. And with the way the tournament was set up, we got to experience what the College World Series tournament would feel like!
Which player/team was your toughest opponent and why? I would say our toughest opponent was the Corona Angels 18U team. They were a great team and it was good to face that level of competition.
What areas are you interested in future occupations and why? I’m very interested in psychology and working with children so maybe a child psychologist or going into education in general. I also think real estate would be fun just getting to help people find their dream homes.
Can you talk about your decision to commit to Washington? I decided to commit to the University of Washington because of the coaching staff and the type of players they recruit! They not only are great athletes, but great people. The campus is beautiful and Seattle feels like home!
Who is your sports hero and why? My sports hero would be Michael Jordan because of his work ethic and his drive to always get better.
What’s the best hype song and why? The best song to get you hype before a game is “Praise God” by Kayne West.
What’s your favorite TV show to binge and why? My favorite TV show to binge is “Gilmore Girls” because I could rewatch it 100 times and it would never get old.
Do you have a secret talent/skill? My secret talent is Christmas trivia on the way to softball tournaments with Coach Randy Viefhaus!!
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