The Ceres Sizzle 14-and-under travel softball team claimed its second straight tournament title in Turlock this past weekend.

Ceres earned a measure of redemption by placing first in the Silver Bracket during the second day of the Tunnel to Towers Charity Tournament, staged Aug. 9-10 at the Pedretti Complex.

“The girls bounced back on Sunday,” head coach Jeff Graham said. “They didn’t like the feeling they had on Saturday. They were disappointed. They were frustrated.”

Ceres compiled a 2-0 record in the Silver Bracket.

The top-seeded Sizzle shut out second-seeded Central Valley Cyclones-Firia 5-0 on Sunday.

“It was pretty competitive,” Graham said. “We did enough to get a few runs on the board.”

Sizzle pitcher Janessa McClure gave up no runs and two hits with three strikeouts and one walk in five innings.

She was previously sidelined with an elbow injury.

“I planned to pull her when she got tired,” Graham said. “She kept chugging along. She dominated.”

Ceres collected 10 hits against Cyclones-Firia.

Selene Valencia batted 2-for-3 with one double, one RBI, two runs and three stolen bases.

Marian Verduzco batted 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Layla Lozano batted 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

Payton Graham batted 1-for-2 with one run and one stolen base.

Sydney Graham batted 1-for-3 with one run.

Love Arballo batted 1-for-3 with one stolen base.

Ceres escaped with an 8-6 win versus fourth-seeded Central Valley Cyclones-Hurtado in the semifinals on Sunday.

The Sizzle accounted for the first eight runs of the game.

Central Valley rallied thanks in large part to five Ceres errors.

“Thank God we jumped out to an early lead,” Jeff Graham said. “We started off on a tear.”

Ceres pitcher Savannah Vasquez yielded two earned runs and six hits with six strikeouts and one walk in three innings.

“She started off strong,” coach coach Graham said. “She showed poise. She battled.”

The Sizzle totaled five hits.

Lozano batted 2-for-2 with one double, three RBIs and one run.

Valencia batted 2-for-2 with one RBI and one run.

Shelby Alves batted 1-for-1 with two RBIs.

Arballo and Verduzco chipped in with one RBI and one run apiece.

McClure scored twice.

Journey Estrella tallied one run and one stolen base.

Sydney Graham added one.

The Sizzle were placed in the Silver Bracket of the tournament after losing two of three pool-play games on Saturday.

Ceres opened the tourney with a 4-3 loss to Outkast.

The Sizzle rebounded with a 13-5 victory against Crucial Fastpitch.

Ceres lost 9-0 to Cyclones-Hurtado.

“We shouldn’t have had the two losses,” Jeff Graham said. “We beat ourselves. We had a lot of errors and mental mistakes.”

The Sizzle competed shorthanded at the Tunnel to Towers Charity Tournament as starting infielder Genevieve Armenta was sidelined for a family commitment.

“I didn’t have my shortstop,” coach Graham said. “I had to move girls around.”

Ceres played five games in a two-span.

The Sizzle competed in triple-digit heat.

“It’s the hottest weekend we’ve had at a tournament,” Jeff Graham said. “It felt miserable. The girls played through it. We had them hydrate and eat fruit throughout the week. We really preach that a lot.”

Ceres improved its overall record to 12-8.

The Sizzle have placed in three of their first four tournaments of the summer.

Ceres enjoyed a breakout performance by capturing the Gold Bracket title at the July 26-27 Dog Days of Summer Tournament at Pedretti. 

The Sizzle finished second at the Zoom into June event.

“Everybody is really excited,” coach Graham said. “It’s nice when the hard work pays off.”