Ceres High's varsity baseball team opened the Western Athletic Conference season with back-to-back losses to Los Banos.
The Bulldogs have won their last four games.
Ceres High took over sole possession of second place in the WAC following last week's two-game sweep of Livingston.
The Bulldogs improved to 14-4 on the year and 7-3 in the conference standings.
Livingston (5-5) dropped into a tie for third place with Patterson.
First-place Los Banos (9-1) has a two-game lead over Ceres High.
"We're making a push for playoffs," Bulldog senior infielder Ricky Lopez said. "That's our goal."
Lopez batted 2-for-3 from the plate with one double, one RBI and one run during Ceres High's 5-1 win over host Livingston on Thursday.
Freshman Dalton Durossette batted 2-for-3 with one RBI and two runs.
Blane Abeyta batted 1-for-4 with one homer, one RBI and one run.
Zach Kommavong batted 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Sophomore Brock DeWitt batted 1-for-4 with one run.
Ismael Ontiveros singled.
The Bulldogs totaled eight hits.
Ceres High scored one run in each of the first two innings, and three in the third.
"Offensively, we exploded," Lopez said.
Durossette turned in another stellar performance on the mound versus Livingston.
Dalton surrendered no earned runs and four hits with three strikeouts and two walks while pitching a complete game.
He tossed a no-hitter as Ceres High shut out Livingston 7-0 on March 21.
Ceres High rallied for a 2-1 victory against Livingston on April 11 at Art McRae Field.
The Bulldogs had eight hits.
Ontiveros batted 3-for-3 with one double and one run.
Lopez batted 1-for-2 with one RBI.
DeWitt batted 1-for-3 with one run.
Adrian Lujan knocked in one run.
Abeyta, Durossette and Joe Valenzuela all singled.
Adrian Magdaleno pitched a complete game.
He gave up one earned run and six hits with two strikeouts and one walk in seven innings.
"They (Magdaleno and Durossette) keep their composure," Lopez said. "They're focused on their goal and that's to dominate on the mound. It's pretty impressive."
Ceres High beat Livingston and Patterson three times in WAC play this season.
The Bulldogs struggled to an 11-15 overall record and fourth-place finish in the WAC (3-9) in 2016.
"We're doing better than last year," Lopez said. "Our record shows it. We're working as a team and not focusing on individual statistics. We're having a blast out here."
