16U MVP Mari Vallejo fires the ball to first. Smedes photo.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CA – It was déjà vu for the 16U Santa Cruz Extreme softball team as they played for , and won, the top prize in the Capitol Sports Association tournament over Cal Spin for the second year in a row. The 27 team tournament was divided into three age groups (12U, 14U and 16U) and was played at various fields over the June 13-14 weekend.

In 2008 Santa Cruz downed Cal Spin by the score of 3-2. This year’s win had a little more breathing room as the Extreme jumped out in front with six runs in the top of the first inning and never trailed in the game. Cal Spin tried to make a game of it as they scored once in the third and four times in the 5th but they were shut down in their comeback as Vanessa Walker settled down and earned the complete game win with a 13-5 score.

Extreme’s Mari Vallejo had a spectacular championship game with a triple and inside-the-park homerun. “It (the homer) was a fatty pitch,” said Vallejo. “It felt amazing. The ball was right down the middle; I was looking for a fast ball.” Vallejo had an inside-the-park homer on Saturday as well.

Santa Cruz’s head coach Steve Young said this was his team’s first tournament win of the year and only their second tournament played. “Last year we won this tournament and then we went on a winning streak,” said Young. “I hope we do it again.”

Thirteen teams took part in the 14U division. Seeding games were played on Saturday for the single elimination portion on Sunday. Cal Grapettes and Nevada Lightning Vargas were the top seeds, both with 3-0 records.

Cal Impact, the second seed defeated the Grapettes 6-5 to get to the championship against Nevada Lightning Vargas. Impact came out on top with a 15-11 win.

The Pack were “the leaders of the pack” in the 12U division, finishing with a 4-0-1 record for the weekend. In the finals the Pack defeated the Hawks 9-1.

The Hawks downed the Reno Heat and the Chico Starz to reach the championship game.