Topps shares MVP honors

Costa Mesa High senior Ann Marie Topps, who led the Mustangs to the

program’s first league championship, headlines 10 local softball

standouts named All-Golden West League by the circuit’s coaches.

Topps, a two-time All-CIF shortstop who belted an Orange

County-best 11 home runs this season, including six against league

pitchers, shared Most Valuable Player honors with Westminster’s Linda

Kohan.

A first-team All-Pacific Coast League performer the last two

seasons, Topps is joined on the first team by fellow Mustangs Jane-E

Yamamoto, Kelly Topps and Michelle Miller.

Freshman Muriel Mason represents Estancia on the first team.

The second team includes Mesa’s Jade Moss, Uyen Mai, Jenn Jordan

and Jackie Butler, as well as Estancia’s Hilary Ockey.

Yamamoto, a second-team All-PCL choice last spring, hit .352 in 12

league games with seven RBIs and 10 stolen bases. She is a junior

second baseman and pitcher.

Kelly Topps, a sophomore first baseman, drove in nine runs in

league, second most on the team behind her older sister Ann Marie’s

16. She hit .300 against Golden West League pitching and stole five

bases.

Miller, a junior, was a defensive wizard behind the plate. She

threw out 7 of 10 runners who tried to steal during league play and

was also proficient at keeping pitches in the dirt in front of her.

Mason earned distinction as the Eagles’ primary pitcher and also

hit .260 in league. She was selected, despite missing the final five

league games after being hit in the head with the ball and suffering

a concussion.

Moss, a senior center fielder, hit .367 in league with 11 steals,

while Mai, a sophomore outfielder-infielder, hit .250 in league with

five steals. Both added sterling defense, according to Coach Rick

Buonarigo. Moss was first-team All-PCL as a sophomore in 2001.

Jordan, a senior designated hitter, batted .333 in league with

five stolen bases and four RBIs, while Butler, a sophomore pitcher,

won 11 of 15 decisions overall as the team’s primary pitcher.

Ockey, a sophomore who caught and also played second base, hit

.307 in league for Coach Marc Rodig’s Eagles.

Yvette Fernandez from Saddleback and Vanessa Zboril from Orange

are the league Co-Most Valuable Pitchers.