By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Ceres softball team 4th in Las Vegas
Sizzle 16s post 5-2 record at NSA Western World Series
sizzle.tiff
The members of the Ceres Sizzle 16-and-under travel softball team display their NSA Northern California State Champions banner during the opening ceremony of the Western World Series last month in Las Vegas. - photo by Contributed to the Courier

The Ceres Sizzle 16-and-under travel softball team fell one win shy of finishing in the top three at the NSA Western World Series, held July 17-19, in Las Vegas.

"I'm not disappointed at all," head coach Dima Ferrel said. "We placed. A lot of teams went home before us. That's a plus."

The Sizzle compiled a 5-2 record en route to a fourth-place finish at the 12-team event. Ceres improved to 21-7-1 on the year.

"I'm very proud of the girls," Ferrel said. "They gave me everything they had. It was a great experience for them."

The Nevada Saints exacted revenge and eliminated the Sizzle from the tournament with a 7-6 victory on July 19.

The Sizzle edged the Washington Hurricanes 4-3 earlier in the day.

Ceres won two of three games on July 18. The Sizzle topped the Extreme Elite of Contra Costa County (10-3) and South Valley Stealth of Soledad (5-4).

The West Side Bullets of Patterson dealt Ceres its first loss (8-2).

Ceres collected wins against the Lady Hawks of Los Angeles (6-4) and Saints (3-2) on July 17.

Ariel Knights crushed two home runs during the course of the tournament.

Alexis Flores and Destiny Guerrero both hit one homer.

"The girls are disappointed," Ferrel said. "They did their best. The level of play was much higher. There were some good teams."

Ceres displayed its NSA Northern California State Champions banner during the opening ceremony.

The tournament was cut short by one day due to scorching weather.

"We've played in heat before," Ferrel said. "But not like that. It was crazy hot. They started drinking and eating the right foods two weeks before. We didn't lose because of the heat. We lost because of errors."

The Sizzle will compete in Riverbank, Merced and Hayward this month.