Ceres High’s varsity baseball team opened the Western Athletic Conference season with a two-game sweep of Lathrop last week.

The Bulldogs improved to 4-8 overall and 2-0 in the WAC standings following Friday’s 4-1 win at Lathrop.

The Spartans dropped to 0-6 and 0-2.

“It’s great to start off league 2-0,” senior infielder Brock DeWitt said. “It gives us a boost of confidence going into next week.”

Ceres High starting pitcher Chris Madariaga allowed one run and three hits with seven strikeouts and three walks in six innings.

Isaiah Alcorn gave up one hit in one inning of relief while picking up the save.

The Bulldogs had a host of contributors on offense.

DeWitt batted 2-for-3 with two doubles and two runs.

Madariaga batted 2-for-3 with one run.

Brock Moore batted 1-for-2 with one RBI.

Andrew Kommavong batted 1-for-4 with one double and one run.

Felipe Martinez batted 1-for-4 with one RBI.

Ceres High defeated Pacheco by the mercy rule, 11-1, in six innings on March 20 at Art McRae Field.

Bulldog pitcher Justin Prestridge yielded just one run and three hits with four strikeouts and two walks in five innings.

Prestridge received plenty of run support from his offense, which collected 11 hits versus the Spartans.

Josh Pernetti batted 2-for-3 with one homer, one double, three RBIs and three runs.

Efrain Brito batted 3-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs.

Gabe Flores batted 3-for-4 with one double and four RBIs.

DeWitt batted 2-for-4 with two runs.

Prestridge scored twice and singled.

Moore knocked in two runs.

Martinez singled and scored once.

“Our pitchers did a great job,” DeWitt said while assessing his team’s performance for the week. “Offensively, everybody did their part.”

Ceres High will face Beyer (4-7, 0-2) twice this week.

The Bulldogs will play on the road today and at home on Friday.

Both games will start at 4 p.m.

“We’re not going to underestimate Beyer,” DeWitt said. “They usually have a pretty good team. We just got to stay sharp and play mistake-free baseball.”