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Cereans help Central Catholic
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Central Catholic has one of the most dominant baseball programs in California. The Raiders won their fifth-straight section crown, their sixth in seven years, this past season. They also ranked first in the state two out of the last three years.

Seven players from Central's 2004 team reside in Ceres, including Drew Durossette, Jared Lomeli, Blake Trinkler, Wade Hurst, Austin Sanford, Adrian Garcia and Trey Durossette.

"They had a major impact," said Steve Durossette, Drew's father and an assistant coach at Central Catholic the last four years.

Steve attended Ceres High School for two years but graduated from Central Catholic.

He played football for Mike Glines and the Raiders in 1976 and 1977. They won league titles both years. Glines has led the varsity baseball team to five of its last seven section crowns.

"Playing ball for coach Glines is an experience in itself," Steve said.

Drew has been going to Central Catholic since the third grade.

"It was a much better environment for me," Drew said.

"It's a small school. Everybody's committed. They want it just as much as the other person."

Approximately 97 percent of Central's seniors go on to college.

Drew will attend Cuesta Junior College in the fall. He wants to transfer to nearby Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Drew won two state, three section and three league championships while playing varsity for three years. He was Central's ace pitcher as a junior and senior.

This year, he led the Stanislaus District in wins and innings pitched, ranked second in shutouts and third in strikeouts. Durossette compiled a 12-2 record with a 1.13 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 105.1 innings.

"He was all league this year and MVP of the league last year," Steve said. "He was also an all-state nominee. He led the state in innings pitched."

Drew gave up one run and six hits in seven innings in the Division V championship game. He pitched all seven innings during last year's section title game.

Lomeli started at second base. The junior/second-year varsity player earned first-team, all-league honors. He tied for third in RBIs and ranked fourth in batting in the Stanislaus District. Lomeli hit .459 (45-for-98) with 25 runs and 30 RBIs.

Lomeli also pitched. He compiled a 6-0 record with a 1.96 ERA and 25 strikeouts.

Lomeli drove in the winning run against Valley Christian in the section title game.

Trinkler started at shortstop for the Raiders. The sophomore/second-year varsity player earned first-team, all-league honors. He tied for ninth in runs scored and ranked in the top 20 in batting in the Stanislaus District. Trinkler hit .404 (36-for-89), scored 27 runs and had 20 RBIs.

Hurst, a first-year varsity player, started in the outfield. The junior hit .354 (11-for-31) with 10 runs and four RBIs.

"Hurst really stepped up this year," Steve said. "He took over the starting center field position and did a tremendous job."

Sanford was a reserve. The junior/first-year varsity player played in the outfield.

Trey, a freshman catcher/second baseman, and Garcia, a freshman second baseman, played JV during the regular season but were promoted to varsity for the playoffs.

Drew, Jared, Blake, Wade, Austin, Adrian and Trey learned how to play baseball at Costa Field.

"All of them have played in the Ceres Youth Baseball system," Steve said. - By DALE BUTLER / Reporter of the Ceres (Calif.) Courier