Ceres High’s baseball team managed to earn a two-game sweep of Lathrop during the opening week of Western Athletic Conference play despite competing shorthanded.

Central Valley secured a split against Central California Conference-rival Golden Valley.

“It’s big for us to start league 2-0,” Bulldogs’ head coach Raul Godinez said. “We have to keep the momentum going.”

“We rebounded well on Thursday,” Hawks’ leader Brad Bussard said. “We played our brand of baseball. It was great to see the kids battle.”

Ceres High improved to 4-4 overall and 2-0 in the WAC standings after besting visiting Lathrop 10-2 on March 15 at Art McRae Field.

“We made contact and put the ball in play,” Godinez said. “They had some errors that helped us continue our at-bats.”

Bradyn Clark was the winning pitcher. He gave up one run and five hits with five strikeouts and one walk in seven innings.

“He’s our ace pitcher on the bump. He’s confident. He hits his spots. He’s a competitor.”

Vincent Castrejon led the way on offense. He batted 3-for-4 from the plate with one double, four RBIs and two runs.

Kyan Bowen batted 2-for-4 with two RBIs and one run.

Austin Maines batted 1-for-2 with one RBI and two runs.

Donovan Osuna batted 1-for-2 with one RBI and one run.

Daniel Davis and Diego Mariscal both batted 1-for-4 with one RBI and one run.

Carson Ulrich batted 0-for-3 with two runs.

Isac Cazarez batted 1-for-3.

Ceres High opened WAC play with a 14-9 win at Lathrop on March 13.

“We came out ready for league,” Godinez said. “We were clicking.”

Ernie Miranda and Vincent Castrejon both logged playing time at pitcher.

Miranda was the winning pitcher. He filled in for No. 2 starter Zachary Van Atta, who was sidelined with an arm injury.

Miranda surrendered five runs and seven hits with two strikeouts and no walks in three innings.

“After Zach got hurt, Ernie became one of our starters,” Godinez said. “He stepped up big time. He has a really good curveball and off-speed pitch.”

Castrejon yielded one earned run and four hits with four strikeouts and no walks while tossing four innings of relief.

He batted 1-for-5 from the plate with one homer, three RBIs and one run.

Davis batted 2-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs.

Bowen batted 4-for-5 with two doubles, one RBI and two runs.

Mariscal batted 1-for-4 with three RBIs and one run.

David Diaz De Leon batted 2-for-5 with one homer, one RBI and two runs.

Clark batted 3-for-4 with two runs.

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

Ulrich batted 1-for-4 with two runs.

Maines batted 2-for-5 with one run.

Central Valley improved to 7-6 overall and 1-1 in the CCC standings after defeating Golden Valley 6-2 on Thursday in Merced.

“We did a good job of putting a lot of pressure on them,” Bussard said.

Chris Garcia was the winning pitcher. He allowed no runs and one hit with six strikeouts and one walk in three innings.

Garcia was limited to just nine innings on the mound last season due to shoulder and elbow issues.

“Him getting healthy is big for our program,” said Bussard. “It brings out a sense of confidence in our team. He’s one of the best pitchers in the area. He puts a little fear in every team we play.”

Garcia batted 0-for-3 from the plate on offense with one run versus Golden Valley.

Caiden Whittle batted 2-for-3 with two runs.

Isaias Valdovinos batted 1-for-2 with one double and two runs.

Juan Alonzo batted 1-for-4 with one double and one RBI.

Aiden Prudhel, Josiah Sandoval and Mason Whitworth all batted 1-for-3 with one RBI.

Edmund Stewart batted 1-for-3 with one run.

Central Valley opened CCC play with a 13-7 loss to Golden Valley on March 19 in Ceres.

“Some days, it’s just not your day,” Bussard said. “The lack of preparation, focus and communication was evident. It was a good learning experience.”

Garcia batted 0-for-2 with two runs.

Stewart batted 2-for-3 with one double, two RBIs and one run.

Whitworth batted 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Fernando Dominguez batted 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run.

Alonzo batted 1-for-3 with one double and two runs.

Caden Mendonca batted 2-for-4 with one RBI.

Andre Flores batted 1-for-3 with one run.

Valdovinos batted 0-for-3 with one RBI.