If they were under the radar at the start of the season, they certainly aren’t anymore.
Cypress won its own tournament over the weekend, topping Esperanza, 12-4, in the semifinals before posting one of the better preseason upsets when it cruised past Huntington Beach, 6-1, in the championship game.
Maddy Byrd, Katie Arce and Paige Hallam each posted five hits over the course of the semis and finals. Arce drove in six runs Saturday, Hallam crossed the plate four times, while Byrd knocked in five runners in addition to tossing a three-hitter against a loaded Oilers lineup.
All three players are batting .500 or better, leading the team to a 4-0 start.
Cypress will play Torrance on Tuesday in a nonleague game before it opens play in the Timberwolf Classic against Woodbridge on Saturday afternoon at Bill Barber Park in Irvine.
BULLHEAD BOUND
Ten county teams will make the trek this week to Bullhead City, Ariz., to play in the Dave Kops Tournament of Champions, regarded as one of the top annual tournaments on the west coast.
Mission Viejo, the tournament’s two-time defending champs, will be joined by Canyon, El Modena, El Toro, Foothill, Fountain Valley, Los Alamitos, Mater Dei, Pacifica and Villa Park at Mohave High for three days of nonstop softball action beginning on Thursday.
The tournament’s championship will be held Saturday evening.
BEST OF THE WEST UPDATE
The Best of the West tournament whittled its field down to four teams this past Saturday. Three county teams are in the final four.
Los Alamitos (3-0), Mission Viejo (2-0) and Mater Dei (3-0) each advanced to the semifinals which will be played March 19 at Pacifica High. The Monarchs will play Eastlake of Chula Vista on one side of the bracket, while the Griffins and Diablos do battle in the other semifinal.
Mission Viejo and Los Alamitos have a nonleague game scheduled for March 17, so it will be interesting to see if the teams choose to play twice in a three-day stretch.
RANKINGS UPDATE
The Register is waiting to see the outcome of this week’s games before it will update its O.C. rankings. The updated rankings will be online March 14.
In you case you missed it, here is the link to the Register’s season-opening top 10.
