Ceres High’s and Central Valley’s softball teams kept their perfect records intact versus Western Athletic Conference competition last week.

“We took care of business,” Bulldogs’ head coach Marcos Duran said. 

“We’ve been playing a lot better lately,” Hawks’ leader Jimmy Bates added. “It’s been fun to watch.”

Ceres High improved to 6-3-1 overall and 4-0-0 in the WAC standings after beating Pacheco 15-1 in five innings on March 27 in Los Banos.

“I’m very happy with how we’ve started,” Duran said. “It’s exactly where we want to be at this point.”

Ceres High batted .481 from the plate as a team.

The Bulldogs had eight different players drive in at least one run.

Ceres High collected 11 walks.

Lizzie Figueroa batted 2-for-2 with two doubles, three RBIs and three runs.

Presley Vierra batted 2-for-2 with four RBIs and two runs.

Bella Bravo batted 2-for-2 with four runs.

Sami Alcarez batted 1-for-2 with one RBI and two runs.

“Everybody was contributing,” Duran said.

Bulldog pitcher Sami Alcarez tallied 12 strikeouts and four walks in five innings.

She gave up just one run and one hit.

“She was dominant,” Duran said. “Their hitters had a hard time catching up to her speed.”

Ceres High seized the momentum by scoring six runs in the top of the first inning.

Ceres High earned a hard-fought 2-0 victory against visiting Lathrop on March 25.

“We did enough to win,” Duran said. “We played great defense. That helped.”

Bulldog pitcher Lizzie Figueroa had six strikeouts and five walks in seven innings.

She allowed no runs and five hits.

“She’s effective when she’s hitting her spots and mixing speeds,” Duran said. 

The Bulldogs posted a team batting average of .364 versus the Spartans.

Ceres High totaled eight hits.

“That’s the toughest pitcher we’ve faced in conference so far,” Duran said. 

Amaia Pritchett batted 2-for-3 with one double, one RBI and one run.

Figueroa batted 2-for-2 with one RBI.

Gabby Cole batted 1-for-3 with one run.

The Bulldogs made no errors on defense.

Host Central Valley improved to 5-6 overall and 3-0 in the WAC with a 10-2 win over Livingston on March 27.

“Everybody is playing a lot more confident now,” Bates said.

The Hawks have won four of their last six games.

“We brought up (freshman centerfielder) Emma Padilla and she’s helped solidify everything,” Bates said. 

Central Valley pitcher Brooklynn Steeley totaled four strikeouts and no walks in seven innings.

She gave up two runs and nine hits.

“Brooklynn threw awesome,” Bates said.

The Hawks batted .364 from the plate as a team versus the Wolves.

Central Valley had 12 hits.

Steeley batted 3-for-4 with one double.

Selah Chesney batted 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs.

Reylena Herrera batted 1-for-4 with one RBI and two runs.

Selene Valencia batted 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run.

Gabriela Delatorre and Abigail Krauss both batted 1-for-3 with one RBI and one run.

Padilla batted 1-for-4 with one RBI and one run.

Ahead 3-2, the Hawks put the game out of reach by tallying seven runs in the sixth inning.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Central Valley’s boys volleyball team surpassed its victory total from last season this past week.

Ceres High suffered its second straight loss.

The Hawks moved to 4-13 overall and 2-4 in the Western Athletic Conference standings.

Central Valley won three matches in 2025.

“Our record can definitely be better,” head coach Julio Madrigal said. “But it’s an improvement from last year.”

Fourth-place Central Valley pulled away for a 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17) win against Pacheco on March 25 in Ceres.

“We played great,” Madrigal said. “Everybody contributed.”

Central Valley lost 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-16) to second-place Beyer on March 27 in Modesto.

“They have a great program,” Madrigal said. “The competitive gap will close eventually.”

Fifth-place Ceres High dropped to 1-5 overall and 1-3 in WAC play after losing 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-17) to third-place Lathrop on March 27 in Ceres.

BOYS TENNIS

Central Valley’s boys tennis team continued its run of success versus Western Athletic Conference competition last week.

The first-place Hawks improved to 9-0 overall and 8-0 in the WAC standings after topping Pacheco 8-1 on March 26 in Ceres.

Central Valley won all six singles and two of three doubles matches versus the Panthers.

Avori Ortega prevailed 6-0, 6-3 in No. 1 singles play.

Roman Parodi prevailed 6-2, 6-0 in No. 2 singles play.

Silas Rodriguez prevailed 6-1, 6-0 in No. 3 singles play.

Osvaldo Cisneros prevailed 6-1, 6-0 in No. 4 singles play.

Alex Alvarez prevailed 6-1, 6-2 in No. 5 singles play.

Jaylan Tagadaya prevailed 6-1, 6-3 in No. 6 singles play.

Josh Rubio and Abram Munguia prevailed 6-3, 6-2 in No. 1 doubles play.

Simar Malhi and Sahib Patter prevailed 6-2, 6-4 in No. 3 doubles play.

Central Valley won all three doubles and four of six doubles matches while posting a 7-2 victory over Lathrop on March 23 in Ceres.

Rodriguez prevailed 6-0, 7-5 in No. 3 singles play.

Cisneros prevailed 6-0, 6-0 in No. 4 singles play.

Alvarez prevailed 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in No. 5 singles play.

Tagadaya prevailed 6-1, 6-0 in No. 6 singles play.

Rubio and Gurtaj Saran prevailed 6-1, 6-1 in No. 1 doubles play.

Malhi and Patter prevailed 6-1, 6-3 in No. 2 doubles play.

Andres Botero and Andrew Arevalo prevailed by forfeit in No. 3 doubles play.

BOYS GOLF

Central Valley’s and Ceres High’s boys golf programs placed third and fifth, respectively, at the WAC’s third cluster tournament on March 26 at Rancho Del Rey Golf Course in Atwater.

The Hawks and Bulldogs finished with rounds of 489 and 530 in the team standings.

William Montez led Central Valley with an 85.

Hawk teammates Adolfo Diaz, Cristian Bossard, Ayden Whitworth and Maximiliano Mendoza shot 90, 93, 108 and 113, respectively.

Cooper Perez led Ceres High with an 87.

Bulldog teammates Jayson Trevino and Landon Teng carded identical scores of 108.

Ceres High’s Isaac Gonzalez and Alexander Ortega shot 110 and 117, respectively.