Ceres High School's varsity baseball team completed the first half of its Western Athletic Conference season last week.
The Bulldogs excelled in all areas while dominating host Livingston 13-3 in a mercy-rule-shortened contest on Wednesday.
"We played a complete game," Ceres High head coach John Bussard said. "All the pieces fell together."
Bulldog junior Haydon Turpin yielded two earned runs and six hits with five strikeouts and three walks in five innings.
"He had all of his pitches working," John said. "That was a pretty dominant performance."
Ceres High had an impressive day at the plate. The Bulldogs totaled 12 hits in 22 at-bats.
Jimbo Pernetti batted 2-for-3 with one home run, one double, five RBIs and two runs.
Brandon Arevalos batted 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBIs and one run.
Devon Ruger had two doubles, two RBIs and one run.
A.J. Fontana doubled and scored twice.
Nick Welsh (two singles, two runs), Brad Bussard (one double, one RBI, one run), Brent Bussard (single, two runs) and Tim Cardelli (one RBI) chipped in as well.
"Even our outs were loud," coach Bussard said.
CC 5, CHS 3
Central Catholic edged Ceres High 5-3 on Thursday in Modesto.
The Bulldogs challenged the Raiders following a slugging start.
Down 4-0, Ceres High scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning and once in the sixth to cut the deficit to one.
"We came out of the gates a little slow," coach Bussard said. "Our first three batters struck out. We still gave ourselves a chance but didn't come up with a couple big hits."
Ceres High collected seven hits, stranded six runners and totaled three errors.
Devon Ruger finished 2-for-3 with one double, one RBI and one run.
A.J. Fontana batted 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Jimbo Pernetti batted 2-for-4 with one run scored.
Brandon Arevalos singled and scored once.
Brett Conway drove in one run.
Nick Welsh had a single.
"We matched up with them pretty well," coach Bussard said. "We actually outhit them. Everybody contributed."
Pernetti pitched for the Bulldogs. The right-handed junior limited the Raiders to five hits in six innings. Jimbo struck out three and walked one.
"He battled on the mound," John said.
Central Catholic made just one error on defense.
Second-place Ceres High (3-2) will begin the second half of the WAC season next week.
The Bulldogs will play at Pacheco on April 18 and host to Central Valley on April 20.
Both league games are slated to begin at 4 p.m.
The Bulldogs excelled in all areas while dominating host Livingston 13-3 in a mercy-rule-shortened contest on Wednesday.
"We played a complete game," Ceres High head coach John Bussard said. "All the pieces fell together."
Bulldog junior Haydon Turpin yielded two earned runs and six hits with five strikeouts and three walks in five innings.
"He had all of his pitches working," John said. "That was a pretty dominant performance."
Ceres High had an impressive day at the plate. The Bulldogs totaled 12 hits in 22 at-bats.
Jimbo Pernetti batted 2-for-3 with one home run, one double, five RBIs and two runs.
Brandon Arevalos batted 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBIs and one run.
Devon Ruger had two doubles, two RBIs and one run.
A.J. Fontana doubled and scored twice.
Nick Welsh (two singles, two runs), Brad Bussard (one double, one RBI, one run), Brent Bussard (single, two runs) and Tim Cardelli (one RBI) chipped in as well.
"Even our outs were loud," coach Bussard said.
CC 5, CHS 3
Central Catholic edged Ceres High 5-3 on Thursday in Modesto.
The Bulldogs challenged the Raiders following a slugging start.
Down 4-0, Ceres High scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning and once in the sixth to cut the deficit to one.
"We came out of the gates a little slow," coach Bussard said. "Our first three batters struck out. We still gave ourselves a chance but didn't come up with a couple big hits."
Ceres High collected seven hits, stranded six runners and totaled three errors.
Devon Ruger finished 2-for-3 with one double, one RBI and one run.
A.J. Fontana batted 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Jimbo Pernetti batted 2-for-4 with one run scored.
Brandon Arevalos singled and scored once.
Brett Conway drove in one run.
Nick Welsh had a single.
"We matched up with them pretty well," coach Bussard said. "We actually outhit them. Everybody contributed."
Pernetti pitched for the Bulldogs. The right-handed junior limited the Raiders to five hits in six innings. Jimbo struck out three and walked one.
"He battled on the mound," John said.
Central Catholic made just one error on defense.
Second-place Ceres High (3-2) will begin the second half of the WAC season next week.
The Bulldogs will play at Pacheco on April 18 and host to Central Valley on April 20.
Both league games are slated to begin at 4 p.m.
