West beats Torrance in Pioneer League game
The first Pioneer League softball showdown of the season between West Torrance and Torrance was played on Tuesday, with the Warriors winning 5-0.
Audrey Lopetegui pitched a complete game and struck out seven for West (6-3, 1-0). Aly Uyeda and Isabella Narez had two hits apiece.
The teams will meet again April 10 at Torrance.
Dave Kops recap
Both the Warriors and Tartars competed in the Dave Kops Tournament of Champions last weekend in Arizona.
Torrance defeated Westlake (5-4), lost to Murrieta Mesa (1-0), then defeated Canyon (5-0), Fountain Valley (6-0) and Moorpark (1-0) to advance to the consolation championship, where La Mirada defeated Torrance 5-4 in nine innings. Torrance finished 4-2 in the tournament.
West went 4-2 and finished in sixth place. West's wins included Cypress (1-0), El Modena (4-2) and Long Beach Millikan (4-1), but it lost to eventual tournament champion Pacifica (5-1) and Murrieta Mesa (8-1).
Palos Verdes off to strong start
Palos Verdes is 6-0 and defeated West 2-1 on Feb. 15. Freshman pitcher Daniella Boccanfuso and sophomore pitcher Kelsey Kordic have been key to the Sea Kings' start.
Banning's Sue off to hot start
The season is just four games old for Banning, but so far junior Kali Sue has been a tough out. Sue hit .515 as a freshman and .525 as a sophomore, and she is batting .769 this season with 10 hits in her first 13 atbats.
CIF-SS polls
West is second in this week's CIF-SS Division
3 poll.
In Division 4, Mira Costa is ranked seventh and Mary Star is eighth. Wiseburn Da Vinci is 16th in Division 6.
Hawthorne MSA and Leuzinger are ninth and 10th, respectively, in Division 7. St. Mary's is 15th in Division 8.
TNT tournament on tap
The Torrance National Tournament begins Friday and Saturday with poolplay action.
The 24-team tournament will be played at Redondo, Torrance and West high schools.
The pool breakdown:
Pool A: Torrance, Culver City, Garden Grove
Pool B: Kennedy, Simi Valley, Peninsula
Pool C: Rio Mesa, South, San Pedro Pool D: Banning, Gahr, Santa Monica Pool E: El Segundo, La Serna, Palos Verdes
Pool F: Grand Terrace, King Drew, Redondo
Pool G: Mira Costa, Palisades, West Pool H: Carson, Centennial (Bakersfield), Piedra Vista (New Mexico)
Friday's schedule: Culver City at Torrance, 7 p.m.; Simi Valley vs. Peninsula at Redondo, 3 p.m.; Simi Valley vs. Kennedy at Redondo 5 p.m.; South vs. San Pedro at Torrance, 5 p.m.; King/Drew at Redondo, 7 p.m.; Mira Costa at West, 3 p.m.
Saturday's schedule: Culver City vs. Garden Grove at Torrance, 4 p.m.; Garden Grove at Torrance, 6 p.m.; Kennedy vs. Peninsula at Redondo at 10 a.m.; Rio Mesa vs. San Pedro at West, noon; Rio Mesa vs. South, 2 p.m.; Palos Verdes vs. El Segundo at Torrance, noon; La Serna vs. Palos Verdes at Torrance, 2 p.m.; King/ Drew vs. Grand Terrace at Redondo, 2 p.m.; Grand Terrace at Redondo, 4 p.m.; Mira Costa vs. Palisades at West, 8 a.m.; Palisades at West, 10 a.m.; Gahr vs. Santa Monica at Redondo, noon