Ceres High School’s and Central Valley’s softball programs competed at the Third Annual Bill Evans Memorial Scholarship Tournament last week in Ceres.

Hosted by CHS, the 15-team event was supposed to be staged Wednesday through Saturday at the George Costa Ball Field Complex.

Saturday’s games were rescheduled due to unplayable field conditions as a result of rain.

“The weather is the weather,” said Bulldogs’ head coach Mike Corsaut. “You can’t control it. I was happy to get the three days in. It’s a fundraiser.”

Ceres High won one of two games at the Evans Tournament on Feb. 28.

The Bulldogs improved to 1-3 on the season.

“We played much better than we did the first two games of the season,” Corsaut said. “We had really good practices. The girls were ready to play.”

Ceres High posted a 6-2 win over Atwater.

“We took advantage of their mistakes."

Bulldog pitcher Kylie Bond collected her first win of the season.

She allowed one earned run and five hits with one strikeout and no walks in six innings.

“She hit her spots. She changed speeds. She was very effective.”

Bond also contributed at third base and second base during the tournament.

“She’s such a gamer. She’s willing to do whatever the team needs. You get no complaints from her.”

Ava Montesdeoca batted 1-for-3 from the plate with two runs.

Alizae Cole batted 1-for-2 with one RBI.

Elizabeth Figueroa, Gabriela Ortiz, Tatiana Ortiz and Amaia Pritchett all scored once.

Ceres High lost 4-0 to Tracy.

“We played hard,” said Corsaut. “We battled. We had runners in scoring position.”

The Bulldogs mustered just five hits in defeat.

Gabriela Ortiz batted 1-for-1.

Nani Sagapolu batted 1-for-2.

Cole batted 1-for-3.

Figueroa and Isabela Giraldes both batted 1-for-3.

Cole (0-3) gave up two earned runs and two hits with two strikeouts and four walks at pitcher.

Ceres High was supposed to play Lincoln and Chavez on Saturday. Those games have been rescheduled for March 30.

Central Valley compiled a 1-3 record at CHS event.

The Hawks faced Riverbank, Hughson, Gregori and Orestimba.

Central Valley, Riverbank, Hughson and Gregori all qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs last season.

“We faced stiff competition,” Hawks’ second-year head coach Jimmy Bates said. “None of the games were blowouts. They were all close. I was excited with how the girls competed.”

Central Valley improved to 3-3 overall after closing out the tournament with a 6-4 win over Riverbank on Friday.

The Hawks lost just four games last spring while enjoying their best year to date.

“The pitching we’ve seen has been much better,” Bates said. “It’s only going to benefit in the long run.”

Central Valley lost 5-1 to Hughson on Friday.

Central Valley lost 3-1 to Gregori on Thursday.

Jannet Valencia batted 2-for-3 from the plate with one RBI.

Alicia Espinoza batted 1-for-1 with one triple and one run.

Gabriela Delatorre and Reylena Herrera both batted 2-for-3.

Brooklyn Steeley batted 1-for-3.

Steeley started at pitcher.

She allowed three unearned runs and six hits with four strikeouts and one walk in six innings.

Central Valley opened the tournament with a 7-4 loss to Orestimba on Thursday.

Payton McConnell batted 1-for-3 from the plate with one double, two RBIs and one run.

Espinoza batted 2-for-2 with one triple, one double and one RBI.

Herrera batted 1-for-2 with one run.

Delatorre batted 1-for-3 with one run.

Steeley batted 1-for-2.

Jannet Valencia batted 1-for-3.

Valencia started a pitcher.

She gave up six runs and three hits with no walks and four walks in two innings.

Steeley yielded one unearned run and two hits with one strikeout and two walks while tossing 12/3 innings of relief.

“In the beginning of games, we had a lot of walks and untimely errors,” Bates said. “We were battling from behind. I thought we competed well.”

A late addition to Central Valley’s softball team for the second year in a row due to wrestling, Espinoza didn’t take long to make a difference.

She logged playing time at second base, right field and center field.

“She made an immediate impact with her bat,” Bates said. 

Underclassmen Steeley and Herrera were also major contributors.

Steely and Herrera logged playing time at pitcher and catcher, respectively.

“Those two freshmen did a lot for us,” Bates said. “I’m very happy with how they played.”