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Trejo sisters — Tucson High alums — triumphant in return to hometown

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Steve and Angelina Trejo experienced again in Tucson on Friday what they were proud of doing when their daughters Mia and Alyssa were growing up here — watching them play softball and having a good time with family in the stands.

Not since Tucson High beat Desert Ridge in a second round game of the 6A state playoffs on May 2, 2017, at Cherry Field, had the Trejo sisters played a game together in their hometown.

“They’re doing great; we’re very proud of them,” Steve said with a smile that told the story with Angelina sitting close by at Hillenbrand Stadium during UNLV’s 18-3 win in five innings over Marist in the opening day of the Bear Down Fiesta.

The Rebels, coached by former Arizona standout Kristie Fox, will play Arizona (both teams 16-4) at 4 p.m. Saturday at Hillenbrand, and Steve and Angelina expect more family members to attend the game because it’s on the weekend and the game is against the Wildcats.

When asked what it was like to play in front of their parents again in Tucson, Alyssa said, “Honestly, it’s like a true blessing.”

“I never thought honestly in college that we would come back here and play, so after high school I thought that would be the last time we play in front of (the parents) until they come out to Vegas,” Alyssa added. “It’s a true blessing to come out here and play for them and my extended family as well.”

The opportunity for them to play together in Tucson again presented itself after Mia was granted an extra year of eligility by the NCAA because of the shortened season in 2020 due to COVID-19.

She is taking full advantage of her fifth year batting .422 with four home runs and a team-high 25 RBIs. She belted a three-run home run to cap a 10-run first inning for UNLV in Friday’s win.

“My family has been out to Vegas a couple of times, but my extended family and friends have never been able to see me in Vegas,” Mia said. “So coming out here is super cool.”

Hitting a home run at Hillenbrand, a park where she and Alyssa watched games often growing up, will live on as a special memory now.

Going unbeaten through the weekend and producing more significant hits against Arizona and Yale in the remaining games is something to build on, especially with the Rebels heading into Mountain West play next weekend with rival Nevada coming to Las Vegas.

“That was exciting,” Mia said of the home run. “I was trying not to do too much and get the girls who were on base, get them in, bring in some runs, but I’m pumped. I plan on doing that again tomorrow. We can make that happen.”

The Trejos are two of many standouts from Tucson playing at Hillenbrand this weekend.

They will be reunited with their former Tucson High teammate Carlie Scupin on Saturday when the Rebels and Wildcats meet for the first time in seven years. They also have a background playing against Arizona’s Blaise Biringer (Cienega grad), Izzy Pacho (Ironwood Ridge) and Bailey Thompson (CDO). Another local standout from their time at Tucson High is former Catalina Foothills standout pitcher Nic Conway, who is Yale’s ace.

Mia said she is “super excited” about sharing the field with Scupin again after playing together with the Badgers.

“She’s doing so well; I’m so happy for her, Blaise, Izzy Pacho, Bailey Thompson … all of the Tucson natives who are playing in front of their hometown,” Mia said. “I’m super excited, super happy for them. I’m pumped to play against them.”

The exuberance of the Trejo sisters is enough to make anyone pumped, especially their teammates.

Combine their intangible qualities with their production and it adds to UNLV’s impressive start in Fox’s fifth season leading the Rebel program with her husband Andy Jarvis, an assistant and third-base coach.

Mia Trejo has belted 25 home runs in her career at UNLV (UNLV photo)

Fox said that “Mia set the tone” for her program since they both joined UNLV in the 2018 season. Fox is 131-58 with a second-place finish in the Mountain West last year, earning her conference coach of the year honors.

“She was an all-league player for us early,” Fox said of Mia. “She came in as a pitcher and third baseman, and we said, ‘Hey, you’re going to play first,’ and she became an all-Mountain West first baseman. Her work ethic and the way she swung the bat sold us on taking a chance with her sister.

“Her sister’s come in and earned her spot and done a great job so a left-handed power (Alyssa) and a right-handed power (Mia) — you can’t beat that.”

Alyssa Trejo is a starting catcher in her third season with the UNLV program (UNLV photo)

The degree of which Mia and Alyssa are respectful of each other speaks volumes to how they were raised by Steve and Angelina Trejo, including on the diamond dating to when Mia was 10 and Alyssa 8 and Steve was coaching the Arizona Cats softball program.

Alyssa mentioned that Mia is a “very good role model” for her.

“She sets by example and I just love following in her footsteps,” she added. “I’m really happy to play with her again and hopefully we can soak in this last semester we have together.”

Mia Trejo heading home after hitting a home run at Tucson High as a senior in 2017 (Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson.com)

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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District.

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