In Year Two of the El Segundo Softball Tournament with all three San Pedro-based high schools last season, it saw the rise of Mary Star High as a prohibitive threat, as they won three in a row for the consolation championship even after dropping their opener, and one of those victories was against in-city neighbor San Pedro.

The tournament opener between San Pedro and Port Of Los Angeles High was better than the tournament championship game between host El Segundo and eventual tournament champion Lakewood itself, with the Polar Bears rallying from four runs down to defeat the Pirates, 6-5 in a game that only lasted six innings due to the tournament's one-hour, 45-minute time limit.

Now the Pirates, Polar Bears and Stars all return for the third year in a row, with POLA (16-7 overall) standing the best chance of winning the tournament and already defeating five non-California schools in tougher tournaments.

The El Segundo Tournament this year will begin this Saturday and ends the following Saturday, May 4.

Should POLA take care of Culver City in their tournament opener, it may draw one of the tournament's favorites to win it all in Banning of Wilmington (17-2), who's currently riding an eight-game winning streak, in the quarterfinal round. It's a challenge head coach Melissa Bugarin-Espinoza and company will thrive on taking head on.

Behind a deep hitting lineup and tons of experience for a squad that only has one senior (catcher Brianna Grayson), POLA has been on a tear as of late after starting the season 2-3. Since then, the Polar Bears have won 14 out of their last 18 games. Sophomore pitcher Nicolle Miranda is still her usual self, but the increased hitting improvements of junior first baseman Allison Bayer, sophomore infielder Savana Ramirez and junior shortstop Kelsea Short all hitting at least .400, makes them even more dangerous than ever.

Sophomore second baseman Rosemary Garcia, sophomore INF/OF Briana Valencia, and junior center fielder Sarah Maldonado have all stepped their game up a notch as of late.

Want to know how dangerous POLA is? Sophomore OF Adriana Vargas isn't a regular starter, and she too is hitting over .400 right now. Who cares if they're in a relatively weak Crosstown League? That in itself speaks volumes of the depth the Polar Bears currently possess.

One of POLA's main goals according to Bugarin-Espinoza, is to send Grayson home with a regular season tournament championship and a third straight CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division III title.

San Pedro (11-9) meanwhile, has been struggling as of late as they are in the unfamiliar position of fourth place in the Marine League after back-to-back losses to Narbonne of Harbor City and Carson this past week.

However, one would be foolish to count the Pirates and veteran coach Tony Dobra out.

The Pirates have won the El Segundo Tournament four times (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007) and if all goes according to plan for recovery, they just might reach the finals assuming they can get by El Segundo if those two meet in the semifinals on May 4. San Pedro will be paced by sophomore INF/OF Taylor Richter, sophomore C/OF Alexa Ponce, junior SS Angelina Boskovich, sophomore outfielder Cayla Ezelle and junior pitcher Jaclyn Rivera.

Junior 3B/P Jocelyn Kondash will also be a vital contributor for San Pedro.

Mary Star (9-6) is still atop the Camino Real League despite a shocking 6-4 loss at Serra of Gardena this past Thursday. Coach Gregg Aguilar may lack the overwhelming depth in his batting order this year as opposed to last year, but the Stars have the best arm in town... sophomore pitcher Marina Vitalich, to carry them in close games. That may prove to be critical when they open the El Segundo Tournament against a deadly Agoura team.

Senior infielders Rikki Legaspi-Valdez and Cassie Demers, sophomore shortstop Lexie Geich and senior catcher Amber Nunez, a Bishop Montgomery of Torrance transfer, also pace the Stars, who need big time production offensively from the bottom of the order to succeed greatly in this tournament.

Junior INF/OF Emily Buczko is also crucial to Mary Star's success.

According to Aguilar, both Mary Star and POLA are getting big-time respect these days from El Segundo coach Keith Cameron, the tournament coordinator, by putting the Stars and Polar Bears in the top portion of the bracket this season as opposed to being on the bottom side where San Pedro is and El Segundo is always positioned. If POLA and Mary Star win their two games this Saturday, they will meet in a semifinal game.

The only way for San Pedro to get revenge on either of their two in-city neighbors, is to reach the finals and hope that either POLA or Mary Star can get there. POLA stands the best chance to reach the final only if it can somehow knock Banning (who hosts San Pedro in a Marine League game on Wednesday) off its suddenly high perch.

Hold on to your hats softball fans... these next two Saturdays will be very interesting.