Central Valley’s boys golf team concluded the first half of Central California Conference play this past week.
The Hawks finished in sixth place at the CCC Mid-Season Tournament on March 27 at the Merced Golf & Country Club.
Central Valley posted a score of 602 at the seven-team event.
The Hawks finished ahead of Patterson (770).
El Capitan (445), Buhach Colony (475), Golden Valley (495), Atwater (507) and Merced (556) took first, second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Dillon Brush led the Hawks with a 37-over-par 109.
Armando Guajardo, Jadon Rafatti, Gabriel Davila-Sanchez and William Montez shot 112, 119, 124 and 138, respectively.
“It’s kind of what I expected,” head coach Scott Edwards said while talking about his team’s performance up to this point of the season. “Dillon, Armando and Jadon have been pretty steady.”
Central Valley was limited to just four matches during the first half of the CCC dual season because of rain.
“It’s hard to get better without practices,” Edwards said. “But everyone else has the same weather. It is what it is.”
Central Valley dropped to 1-3 in the CCC standing after losing by 66 strokes, 221-287, to host Buhach Colony on March 23 at Rancho Del Rey Golf Club.
“We played all right,” Edwards said.
Brush led the Hawks with a 15-over-par 51.
Guajardo, Rafatti, Daniel Jacinto and Montez shot 53, 54, 64 and 65, respectively.
The Hawks topped the Patterson Tigers during the first half of the CCC dual season.
Central Valley lost to El Capitan, Golden Valley and Buhach Colony.
League matches against Atwater and Merced were rained out and rescheduled.
SWIMMING
Ceres High’s swim program dropped a pair of dual meets to visiting Los Banos this past week.
Ceres High’s girls team fell to 1-3 in the Western Athletic Conference standings after losing 119-28 to the Tigers on Friday.
Zhaira Brar, Layla Abraham, Jessie Blevins, Alyssa Santillanes, Camila Campollo, Makynzie Hale, Elliana Tigerino, Alexa Sandoval, Andrea Lopez, Alana Inahara and Carla Sanchez all contributed to the Bulldogs’ point total.
Brar took first in the 200 free and 100 breast.
Abraham took second in the 100 back.
Blevins took second in the 500 free and third in the 200 free.
Santillanes took third in the 100 free.
Campollo took third in the 50 free.
Hale took third in the 100 fly.
Tigerino took fourth in the 100 free.
Sandoval took fourth in the 100 back.
Lopez took fourth in the 50 free and sixth in the 100 free.
Inahara took fifth in the 100 breast and sixth in the 200 free.
Sanchez took sixth in the 50 free.
Ceres High’s shorthanded boys team suffered a 100-20 loss while competing against Los Banos.
The Bulldogs were outnumbered as they suited up just three swimmers for the meet.
Hunter Hammons, Jesus Valdovinos and Jose Carranza contributed to Ceres High’s point total.
Hammons took second in the 100 fly and 50 free.
Valdovinos took second in the 200 free and third in the 100 breast.
Carranza took third in the 50 free and fourth in the 100 free.
BASEBALL
Central Valley’s baseball program faced two of the top teams in the Sac-Joaquin Section this past week.
Ceres High compiled a 1-2 record in conference play.
The Hawks edged the 19th-ranked Gregori Jaguars and dropped a pair of league games to the No. 4 El Capitan Gauchos.
Central Valley rallied for an 8-6 win over Gregori on Saturday in Modesto.
The Hawks battled back from a 4-1 deficit.
“We played one of our better offensive games of the season,” head coach Brad Bussard said. “We also took advantage of the mistakes they made.”
The Hawks improved to 6-8 on the season.
The Jaguars dropped to 11-4 on the year.
Garret Garcia batted 2-for-4 with one homer, one double, three RBIs and one run.
Ryan Estermann batted 2-for-3 with one double, two RBIs and two runs.
Jayson Casias batted 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs.
Caiden Whittle batted 1-for-3 with one RBI and one run.
Miguel Espinoza and Josiah Sandoval both scored once.
Jake Olson singled.
Central Valley scored six runs in the top of the fourth inning. Garcia led the way with a two-run homer.
“Ever since we made an adjustment in his swing, he’s seeing the ball a lot better,” Bussard said.
Hawk pitcher Gage Mastropierro yielded no earned runs and one hit with four strikeouts and three walks in 32/3 innings.
Central Valley lost 2-1 to El Capitan in Central California Conference play on Thursday in Merced.
The Gauchos improved to 9-0-1 overall and 6-0-0 in the CCC standings.
“They’re the fourth-ranked team in our section and we proved we could compete with them,” Bussard said. “It shows the potential.”
Hawk pitcher Diego Delahoya turned in another solid outing.
He surrendered two runs and two hits with seven strikeouts and five walks over five innings.
“Diego gives us a chance to win every game he pitches,” Bussard said. “He’s a competitor. He’s confident on the mound. When he throws strikes, he’s hard to hit.”
Central Valley’s offense was limited to just four hits.
Esterman batted 2-for-4 with one double and one run.
Casias batted 2-for-3.
El Capitan rolled to a 9-1 victory against Central Valley on March 27 in Ceres.
Garcia batted 3-for-3 with one double and one run.
Espinoza plated one run.
Sandoval singled.
Hawk pitcher Fernando Dominguez allowed two earned runs and eight hits with one strikeout and no walks.
Ceres High won one of two games versus WAC-rival Johansen on Friday in Modesto.
The Bulldogs pounded the Vikings 15-2 during Game 2 of the doubleheader.
The game lasted just five innings as it was stopped due to the mercy rule.
“I was a little worried going into the second game,” head coach Raul Godinez stated. “Thankfully, we got the win.”
Ceres High’s Brayden Clark was the winning pitcher.
He totaled five strikeouts in 42/3 innings.
“Brayden did his job,” Godinez said.
Bulldog Jorge Gonzalez batted 3-for-4 from the plate with one double and three RBIs.
Zion Wesir batted 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Johansen edged Ceres High 1-0 during Game 1.
Gonzalez piled up a career-high 18 strikeouts at pitcher.
He gave up no earned runs and no hits.
“He was dealing,” Godinez said. “He was hitting his spots.”
The game’s lone run, which was unearned, was scored in the bottom of the first inning.
Bulldog Kyan Bowen batted 3-for-3.
Wesir singled.
Ceres High dropped to 3-8 overall and 3-3 in the WAC after losing 8-1 at Beyer on Saturday.
The Patriots (3-6, 3-3) split a two-game series versus the Bulldogs.
Beyer avenged a 8-5 loss sustained at Ceres High on March 24.
“We played really good baseball the first time we played them,” Godinez said.
The Bulldogs never recovered after allowing four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning during the rematch.
“Once they put the pressure on, we fell apart,” Godinez said.
Bowen, Ceres High’s starting pitcher, tallied five strikeouts in five innings.
Bulldog Diego Mariscal singled twice.
