Kofa baseball shines in post-season Central Valley Region honors, bring home three top awards

The Kings rope in seven 1st Team awards along with Coach of the Year and OPOY & DPOY

YUMA, Ariz., (KYMA, KECY) - It was disappointing not to see Kofa Kings baseball get a shot in the 5A playoffs after taking home a Central Valley crown by going (11-1) in region play.

Yet, they had a lot of postseason accolades to hold onto - showing the hard work and talent across the board.

Not only did seven Kings nab 1st Team All-Region honors, but they claimed three of the top four overall honors and sent two players to Goodyear for the 5A All-Star Game and one to the 5A All-Academic Game to show for it.

5A BASEBALL

Central Valley Region Offensive Player of the Year

Jose Castro - Kofa

Castro took home the Central Valley Region Offensive Player of the Year honor as just a sophomore. With the most plate appearances on the team, Castro led the way with a .371 clip and a .488 on-base percentage at the top of the lineup - also leading the team with 12 stolen bases and 23 runs scored.

Central Valley Region Defensive Player of the Year

Sebastian Villegas - Kofa

While also excelling at the plate, the senior shortstop was a vacuum with his glove where he will be taking his talents to Riverside Community College. Villegas had just five errors in 90 total chances, totaling a fielding percentage of .944. At the plate, Villegas hit .316 with 24 hits and 25 RBIs.

Central Valley Region Coach of the Year

Gabe Ortiz - Kofa

In just his first year at the helm, Ortiz helped the Kings to a Region crown at (11-1) including some big wins down the stretch and an eight-game winning streak that pushed them ahead of the pack. And as mentioned, having eight of his players earn season honors.

5A Central Valley All-Region 1st Team

Jose Castro - Kofa (Position Player)

Sebastian Villegas - Kofa (Position Player)

Angel Fragozo - Kofa (Position Player)

• .353, 30 hits, 21 RBIs
• 21.1 IP, 2.59 ERA

David Salas - Kofa (Position Player)

• .292, 21 hits, 19 RBI
• 23.1 IP, 1.80 ERA, .989 fielding %

Sebastian Mendoza - Kofa (Pitcher)

• 31.1 IP, 3.13 ERA, 21 K's

Jesus Villa - Kofa (Pitcher)

• 23.0 IP, 2.43 ERA, 4-0 record, 16 K's

Daniel Zazueta - Kofa (Position Player)

• .318, 21 hits, 16 RBIs, 19 runs, 7 stolen bases

On top of reeling in the accolades as Central Valley Region 1st Team players, the program was also given the chance to send two players to the 5A All-Star Game in Goodyear and another to the All-Academic Game for excellence on the field and in the classroom.

Angel Fragozo and David Salas were chosen to represent the Crimson and White in the All-Star Game - and Angel described what it was like to be in a game like that.

"It felt great to wear the Kings jersey and represent Kofa one last time," said Fragozo. "It was competitive but I felt like it was something that would help me out more and help me in the future. I learned that there's a a lot of guys that are good in the same spot and you're just going to have to earn it."

As for the Academic Game, Sebastian Villegas got the nod. He says he took it all in by playing in big ballpark and was excited for the different energy in hearing his name called to represent his school.

"Just a different experience, you know, but I had a lot of fun with it. I loved it," said Sebastian. "It was like a realization that that was the last time I would put on the Kofa uniform. But it was a great experience just putting on the uniform one last time to play out there and represent Kofa High School."

5A Central Valley All-Region 2nd Team

Nathan Roldan - Kofa (Position Player)

• .271, 16 hits, 11 RBI, .974 fielding %

Honorable Mentions

Julio Reina - Kofa

Fabian Burgos - Kofa