The Valencia-based So Cal Choppers made it to the round of 16 in the ASA under-18 Gold National Championship softball tournament in Oklahoma City, but wound up in the losers bracket and finished in a tie for 17th place.
The So Cal Choppers lost to the Worth Firecrackers, 7-6, and dropped into the losers bracket on Friday. The Choppers were eliminated from the tournament later that same day, losing 1-0 to the Arizona Desert Thunder.
Sorcerer Gold, a team from Vallejo, Calif., won the ASA Gold championship. The Gold went undefeated and beat the Gold Coast Hurricanes, a team from Florida, 3-1, in the championship game.
Pat Valaika, a senior-to-be at Hart High School, committed to play baseball at UCLA. He breaks the Valaika pipeline of baseball players to UC Santa Barbara. His two brothers, Chris and Matt, played their college baseball for the Gauchos.
Barring any transfers or changes of heart, Pat will be UCLA teammates with Hart High grads Trevor Bauer and Trevor Brown in 2011.