HS BASE: Lopes named to USA Baseball national team

Christian Lopes, who hit 10 home runs as a Valencia freshman this past spring, has been named to the USA National Team (16-under).

The team is scheduled to participate in a 10-day international tournament in Mexico beginning Friday.

I've been following Lopes since he was 10 years old when he led the William S. Hart PONY team to the Mustang World Series in Texas. Back then, he could hit a baseball 250 feet -- WAY over the fence. These days, Lopes can hit 400-foot home runs and throws a 90 mph fastball.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com