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Coach pleased with softball team's effort
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The Ceres High softball team didn't place first at its own tournament during Spring Break.

Coach Mike Corsaut had no complaints.

"We faced the best pitching in this area," Corsaut said. "It's going to make us better as a team."

All five of Ceres' pitchers threw well, including Jennifer Arnold, Kelsey Sayad, Andrea Mathis, Monica Hall and Shelby Olivan.

"I can have the utmost confidence in any of my pitchers and we'll be okay," Corsaut said.

Ceres (14-4) finished third at the six-team, round-robin tournament at Rainbow Fields.

Oakdale won the team title with a 4-0-1 record.

East Union (3-2), Orestimba (2-3), Hughson (1-4) and Patterson (0-4-1) finished second, fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

Oakdale's Marissa Drewrey was named tournament MVP.

Meghan Franksen (Ceres), Heidi Eisenbeis (Ceres), Alicia Reed (Oakdale), Alyssa Guzman (Oakdale), Angela Cabral (Hughson), Brittney Tachara (East Union), Amanda Vickers (East Union), Ashley Johnson (Patterson), Nicole Moore (Orestimba) and Stephanie Tapp (Orestimba) made the all-tournament team.

East Union 1, Ceres 0

Tachara shutdown the Bulldogs Saturday afternoon. The senior pitched a complete game, four-hitter. She had 13 strikeouts, including 10 through the first four innings of play.

"The two games she didn't pitch, we lost," said East Union coach Brian Goulart.

"She didn't give up a run in 20 innings."

Added Corsaut: "She was dominating."

Arnold had a stellar outing for the Bulldogs. The sophomore allowed one run, which was unearned, on two hits and had two strikeouts.

East Union (15-6) scored the game's lone run in the top of the fifth inning.

Stephanie Brooks ledoff with a single to left field. East Union No. 7 hitter Theresa Woodman hit a slow grounder to Ceres first baseman Elisha Ferguson.

Ferguson went to second base for the force out but her high throw deflected off of her teammates glove and into the outfield. Brooks and Woodman advanced to third and second on the play.

"That's a play we practice," Corsaut said.

Added Goulart: "We've been on the other side of that."

Brooks scored from third on Sam Wendt's sacrifice fly to right field.

Ceres 2, Orestimba 1

Sayad had a strong outing against the Warriors Saturday afternoon. She fanned seven batters and allowed one run on four hits in seven innings.

Ceres scored twice in the third inning.

Franksen scored on Hall's triple.

Eisenbeis scored on Amanda Gravitt's single.

Orestimba scored in the fifth inning.

Oakdale 5, Ceres 0

Drewrey and the Mustangs shutout the Bulldogs Friday afternoon. The 6-foot-2 sophomore pitcher had eight strikeouts and limited Ceres to just four hits in 51/2 innings. She retired 17 of the 24 batters she faced.

The Bulldogs left eight runners on base.

"We just didn't come up with the opportune hit," Corsaut said. "Oakdale did."

The Mustangs scored one run in both the first and second innings, two in the third on Guzman's double and one in the fifth.

Mathis gave up five runs on five hits, two walks and one hit batsman for the Bulldogs. She also had two strikeouts.

Neither team made an error in the game.

Ceres 7, Patterson 4

Hall allowed four runs on seven hits and had two strikeouts in six innings for the Bulldogs Friday afternoon.

Johnson gave up seven runs on nine hits and two errors for the Tigers.

Ceres scored five runs with two outs in the fifth inning.

Ferguson had an RBI single, Heather Russell had a two-run double and Franksen had a two-run triple.

The Bulldogs added two runs with two outs in the third inning.

Franksen and Michelle Gonzales scored from third and second respectively, on Ferguson's single.

Patterson led 3-2 through four innings of play.

Franksen went 3-for-4 from the plate with two triples.

Gravitt went 2-for-3.

Ceres 2, Hughson 1

Olivan gave up one run on three hits and had five strikeouts in leading the Bulldogs past the Huskies Friday morning. The game lasted six innings.

Ceres scored two unearned runs off of Cabral in the top of the first inning.

Cabral threw Hall's bunt into the outfield as she attempted to get the force out at second. Franksen scored on the error.

Jordan Nash accounted for Ceres' second run. She had an RBI groundout. - By DALE BUTLER / Staff Reporter of The Ceres (Calif.) Courier