The Lady Magic, a team comprised mostly of players from the Sacramento area, won the Amateur Softball Association/USA Girls' 16-and-under Class-A fast-pitch national championship in Owensboro, Ky., last week.

The Lady Magic, which finished 8-0 in the 144-team tournament, beat the St. Louis Chaos 13-5 in the final.  Lady Magic recovered from a 5-4 deficit in the fifth inning by scoring nine runs in the final two innings.

Cheyenne Cordes, who will be a sophomore next season at Rodriguez High School in Fairfield, led the way with two three-run home runs. Lindsey Ziegenhirt, an incoming senior at Sheldon, helped key the victory with two solo home runs.

"Normally, the best team in this tournament doesn't win," Lady Magic coach Jim Carda said. "But things went our way. We had the talent, coupled with the big breaks to help us."

Cordes batted .517 with five home runs in the tournament. Simone Heyward, an All-Metro first-team selection from Rosemont, hit a team-leading .535 in the tournament.

Other area members on the team included Ally Carda of Pleasant Grove, sisters Danielle and Jolene Henderson of Sheldon, Alyssa Schmidt of Whitney, Hayley Miles of Center, Jenessa Jeppesen of Oak Ridge, Katie Mathis of Bear River and Shelby Wisdom of Elk Grove.

As published in the Sacramento Bee