Chaparral coach Jon Kemp is no longer surprised that his young Firebirds keep winning.

On Saturday, the seven freshmen, four sophomores and three seniors once again played beyond their years for their 11-3 team. They displayed that savviness in their West Valley Invitational semifinal contest versus Verrado and during the tournament’s final at Tolleson High School.

Chaparral’s reward was a 3-2 tournament championship victory over a Corona del Sol team that may have turned its season around.

“They (Firebirds) are growing really fast, and they are playing really well,” Kemp said. “It’s fun to watch, and they really work hard. It’s the first team I’ve had that wanted to practice over spring break; wanted to practice on Martin Luther King Day. They are out there taking extra ground balls, fly balls and doing extra hitting. They are working really hard. They are just a really fun group to coach.”

Sophomore Ella Mancini’s two-out two-run walk-off hit to defeat Verrado 4-3 in eight innings sent Chaparral to the final.

There was no time to celebrate, though, as the Firebirds immediately walked to another field to play Corona del Sol. Another Chaparral youngster, freshman Makenzie Leathers, took the circle in the finale, and, despite a shaky start, allowed only three hits in 3 and 2/3 innings.

Leathers also had two hits while batting ninth.

Another freshman, pinch hitter Parker Liano, brought in the eventual game-winning run with a two-out RBI single to right to give Chaparral a 3-1 edge heading to the seventh. In its final at-bat, Corona del Sol had the tying run on first and the go-ahead run at the plate.

But Chaparral reliever Lexie Wilson got the final batter to fly out. Wilson is actually her team’s ace and senior leader.

She stuck out 21 batters during Saturday’s games.

“A combination of defense and hitting has been definitely big,” Wilson said. “Once we string together a lot of hits I think that’s when we win.”

One of those batters that also came through was sophomore Kaelyn Moffitt, who hit three home runs Saturday.

“Today was the day that I started hitting,” Moffitt said. “I don’t know (why it started today). But it’s good to be back.”

Fellow sophomore Ava Stallone, the No. 3 hitter, went 2-for-3.

A couple of defensive miscues allowed each team to score its first runs. A leadoff batter reached base three times for Corona del Sol, and it had the bases loaded in the first inning.

But the squad stranded five runners in scoring position. Corona del Sol, which started 0-9, had won five in a row before the West Valley final.

For the tournament’s runner-up, Saige Peters and Brooke Sheehan each had two hits, Miquela Tammaro reached base twice and No. 9 hitter Leah Montenegro had a triple in the West Valley final.

Their starting pitcher, Alyssia Muñoz, allowed just two earned runs and struck out six in six innings.

“This tournament was a great experience for us,” Corona del Sol coach Sean Thornton said. “The team came together. The bats started swinging. Just really proud of the girls.”

Despite struggling during the start of its season, Corona del Sol reached the final of Saturday's West Valley Invitational. (Jose Garcia/azpreps365)