The Ceres Sizzle 18-and-under travel softball team collected four wins, one loss and one tie on its way to claiming the championship at the July 9-10 USSSA Shooting Star Tournament in Ceres.

"We had a good showing in front of our home crowd," head coach Brian Garfield said.

Second-seeded Ceres escaped with a 6-5 win over the top-seeded Club All-Stars of Stockton in the title game on July 10 at the George Costa Ball Field Complex.

The Sizzle exacted revenge for a three-run loss.

"That's the best they've played this season," Garfield said. "The girls stepped up. They worked hard to get here. I'm proud of them."

Ceres pitcher Shania Cisneros allowed four runs and six hits with five strikeouts.

"Her riseball was working pretty well," Garfield said.

The Sizzle erased a 2-1 deficit by scoring four times in the top of the third inning.

Destiny Guerrero evened the score with a solo homer over the left-field fence.

Sonia Smith's bases-loaded triple into the left-center gap scored Justice Dizney, Bianca Minor and Karina Pulido.

Dizney and Minor both reached base via singles.

Pulido got hit by a pitch.

Ceres tallied its first run in the top of the first inning.

Samantha Carvajal walked and raced home on Alyssa Figueroa's single.

Carvajal also accounted for Ceres' final run.

She tripled and scored on Chrystal Perales' single.

Minor had three putouts in centerfield in the final inning.

"The girls did pretty much everything right," Garfield said. "They responded. I'm glad everything fell into place."

Ceres won all three of its games on July 10, beating the Club All-Stars, Tri-County Smash (7-4) and Sizzle 16s (13-2).

The Sizzle posted a 1-1-1 record in seeding play on July 9.
Ceres cruised to a 13-2 victory against the Manteca Wave.

The Sizzle and Los Skeeters battled to a 3-3 tie.

Ceres lost 4-1 to the Club All-Stars.

Stockton's southpaw pitcher wasn't as dominant during the rematch.

"We made some adjustments," Garfield said. "We got closer to the plate. We started hitting."

The Sizzle have played in three tournaments this summer. Ceres placed third at the NSA Father's Day Classic in Turlock and NSA State Championships in Merced.

"I want to see if they keep the momentum going," said Garfield, whose team has three tournaments left on its schedule. "I expect them to be competitive."