The Port Of Los Angeles High softball team isn't satisfied with just their two straight CIF-Los Angeles City Section Small Schools Division championships... they are out for high stakes and another championship.

How much motivated are they you ask?

Enter the Torrance National Tournament.

For the second year in a row, the Polar Bears, currently 3-3 this season after their 21-0 win over Maya Angelou of Los Angeles in their Crosstown League opener, will compete in the TNT Tournament this week from Thursday through Saturday at Wilson Park in Torrance, with five guaranteed games in all three days. Head coach Melissa Bugarin-Espinoza will have an experienced team ready to match the success of last year's stellar showing.

POLA would notch two victories against out-of-state powers such as Piedra Vista of New Mexico and Salpointe Catholic of Arizona, going 2-3 in the tournament which had 16 schools.

This year, the TNT Tournament has expanded to 24 teams with various powers from Southern California, Northern California, Arizona, Nevada and even two from another softball-rich state of Texas.

Torrance, the tournament host, North Torrance, Downey, Lakewood, Moorpark and Edison of Huntington Beach are some of the top teams from Southern California in the tournament, while Verrado of Buckeye, Arizona, Bishop Gorman of Nevada, Damonte Ranch of Nevada, Green Valley of Nevada, Franklin of El Paso, Texas, Jefferson of Texas and Centennial of Las Vegas, Nevada are some of the top powers outside of California.

Edison boasts the reigning Gatorade National Player Of The Year in Samantha Cordova, a senior pitcher bound for Utah.

On Thursday, POLA will play in two Pool G games against both King of Riverside, California and Foothill of Henderson, Nevada in a pair of night games. The second game against Foothill is a rematch of last year's TNT opener for the Polar Bears, who fought hard in a respectable 2-1 loss.

In that game, current junior first baseman Allison Bayer stroked a game-tying RBI-single for POLA, while current sophomore pitcher Nicolle Miranda allowed five hits and two earned runs with six strikeouts.

POLA would love to turn some heads with a solid effort in this three-day softball extravaganza.