Central Valley's varsity softball team struggled to a 2-2 record at the Ceres High tournament at Rainbow Fields last spring.

The second-place Hawks went 3-1 in Pool E this year thanks in large part to the play of Yescenia Godinez, Lindsey Alexander, Lexy Cordova, Sarah McElroy, Mia Lorenzo and Gaby Bonales.

"I'm really happy with how they performed," head coach Kristen Ghimenti said. "They cut down on errors from the past. That was huge."

The Hawks opened the tourney with back-to-back wins on Wednesday.

Central Valley defeated Johansen (7-1) and Golden Valley (8-6).

The Hawks edged Orestimba 7-6 and lost 2-0 to Beyer on Saturday.

"Overall, I was impressed," Ghimenti said. "Having a good start sets a different tone to the season. We've only had a week's worth of practice with everyone."

The Bulldogs posted a combined record of 8-0 while finishing in first place of their own tournament in 2013 and 2012.

Second-place Ceres High won three of four games in Pool B this season.

"We did well," head coach Donnie Donaldson said. "We're getting better."

Ceres High blanked Atwater 4-0 and routed Liberty Ranch 9-1 on Friday.

Freshman pitcher Rayohna Sagapolu tallied 10 strikeouts and allowed just two hits against Atwater.

Sagapolu batted 1-for-3 from the plate.

Mackenzie Veuve batted 2-for-2 with one double, one walk and one run.

Sophomore Callie Nunes pitched against Liberty Ranch. She allowed no runs, surrendered one hit and fanned 11.

Nicole Bates batted 2-for-2 with one walk, two stolen bates and three runs.

Sabrina Baisdon batted 1-for-3 with two runs.

Mahlena O'Neal batted 1-for-3 with one triple and one RBI.

Camrynn Broumas batted 1-for-2 with one RBI and one run.

Sagapolu and Nunes both earned their first varsity wins.

Ceres High beat Modesto High 5-1 and lost 9-0 to Oakdale on Saturday.

Kaytlin Donaldson pitched a two-hitter against Modesto High. She gave up two hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

Bates doubled and singled.

O'Neal collected one double, one RBI and one run.

Broumas singled and scored once.

Sagapolu, Nunes and Ali Lowman all logged playing time on the mound versus Oakdale.

Rayohna accounted for the Bulldogs' lone hit on offense.

Central Valley and Ceres High will begin Western Athletic Conference play this week.

The Hawks and Bulldogs will host Los Banos and Central Catholic, respectively, on Friday at 4 p.m.