Once the Los Gatos-Cupertino-Saratoga (LGCS) Magic 12U(A) softball team was assembled in the fall of 2024, it proceeded to play 15 tournaments spanning the next 40 weeks.
However, nothing could top the Magic’s dazzling run through the USA Softball Northern California Championship Tournament, culminating with a 14-0 victory over the San Lorenzo Heat in the title contest on June 29 in Hayward.
The Magic ran roughshod over the competition, going 4-0 and outscoring their opponents by a combined margin of 26-5. In winning its first NorCal championship in 11 years, LGCS was invited to play in the Western Nationals—an invitation it declined due to logistical matters.
“We play a lot of tournaments throughout the year, but most of them aren’t USA Softball (sanctioned),” Magic President and Head Coach Chris O’Reilly said. “We do take special pride in going and competing against other USA Softball organizations in the area and beating them, so we’re really proud of the girls.”
The roster includes Addie Lui, Adeline Oh, Olivia Borrelli, Kaitlyn Paige, Lauren O’Reilly, Jeannie Huang, Arianna Reyes, Kayla O’Reilly, Saylor Riera, and Kiara Taylor. The coaching staff features O’Reilly and assistant coaches Chris Borelli and Kristen Schueler.
Hours before dominating the Heat, LGCS defeated the Palo Alto Red Hawks, 3-1, in the semifinals. The Magic finished the season with a 20-3 record, improving upon their 15-8 mark from the previous season. This will go down as one of the greatest seasons in program history, after the 2014 team which finished second in the Western Nationals.
That squad was coached by current Los Gatos High School softball coach Randy Frey, who continues to be a vital supporter of the LGCS Magic program. In fact, Frey ran a clinic at LGHS for the Magic players two months ago.
The Magic are the summer/fall travel ball teams of the LGCS Softball Association.
“LGCS and Magic have been incredibly valuable to our community, not just because they develop talented softball players, but because that’s where young girls learn a love of the game of softball,” Frey said in a press release. “The success of Magic directly feeds into the strength of our high school program. Almost 100% of my varsity players got their start in LGCS and Magic. It’s wonderful to see this legacy continue.”
The Magic received contributions from their entire roster in NorCals, but it was four players—Paige, Borrelli, Taylor and O’Reilly—who delivered game-changing performances. Paige and Borelli were dynamite in the circle, combining to go 4-0. Paige had 10 strikeouts and Borelli tossed 10 shutout innings.
Taylor, the team’s leadoff hitter, batted .500 with seven runs scored. Meanwhile, O’Reilly hit .554 with a robust 1.425 OPS.
As its name suggests, LGCS draws players from Los Gatos, Cupertino and Saratoga. O’Reilly said that 50% of the players in the program come from Los Gatos, but Saratoga is well represented. One of the Magic’s top players from the 2014 team, Eleni Spirakis, is the daughter of current Saratoga High coach Greg Spirakis, who ran a clinic for the Magic last month.
“We feed into both high schools,” O’Reilly said.
Things are definitely on the upswing for LGCS, which fielded three teams at the 12U level for the first time “in at least a decade,” O’Reilly said. Like all youth sports programs, LGCS saw a precipitous drop in participation numbers in the Covid era. It’s only now that the association is back to what it was pre-Covid time.
“Covid was really hard on us,” O’Reilly said. “We lost a lot of players, coaches and families. As a community softball organization, it’s very tough to come back from that. But thankfully we’ve come back. Over the last two to four years, we’ve had a critical mass of players we’ve been developing, and it’s in the last six months where you’re really seeing the performance match all the hard work.”
