Ceres High’s and Central Valley’s softball teams competed at the NorCal Classic this past week in Tracy.

“It was a good experience for us heading into the second half of the season,” Bulldogs’ head coach Marcos Duran said. “Our goal is still right in front of us. We want to win conference.”

“We faced some adversity,” Hawks’ leader Jimmy Bates stated. “Now, we’re going to see how we respond to that.”

Ceres High won two of its four games at the NorCal tournament.

Central Valley compiled an 0-2 record.

“After the first loss, we wanted to win out,” Duran said. “We fell short.”

“We only played twice because of the weather,” Bates added.

Ceres High dropped to 10-5-1 overall after losing 7-2 to Orestimba on April 11.

“We had a hard time against their pitcher,” Duran said. “She threw a lot of strikes and kept our batters off-balance.”

Bulldog pitcher Sami Alcarez allowed just one earned run and seven hits with seven strikeouts and three walks versus the Warriors.

Ceres High committed three errors on defense.

The Bulldogs mustered just four hits.

Bella Bravo batted 1-for-3 with one double, one RBI and one run.

Briona Bravo batted 1-for-1 with one double and one RBI.

Lizzie Figueroa scored once.

Figueroa helped lead Ceres High to a 4-1 win over Mercy on April 11.

She gave up no earned runs and seven hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.

“She was hitting her spots,” Duran said. “Her defense played well behind her.”

The Bulldogs totaled seven hits.

Figueroa and Sophia Alcarez both singled.

Briona Bravo batted 2-for-2 with one RBI and one run.

Sami Alcarez batted 2-for-3 with one double and two runs.

Ceres High totaled nine stolen bases.

“We did enough to win,” Duran said. “We were really aggressive when we got runners on base and manufactured runs.”

Ceres High shut out Johnson 7-0 on April 10.

Sami Alcarez was the winning pitcher.

She had 14 strikeouts.

She also belted a two-run homer.

The Bulldogs scored four runs in the top of the second inning and three in the fifth.

“We had some timely hitting,” Duran said. “We played good defense.”

Ceres High opened the tourney with a 14-4 loss to St. Francis on April 10.

“They were a really good team,” Duran said. “They hit the ball well.”

Central Valley dropped to 7-8 overall following its 7-0 loss to Orestimba on April 10.

The Warriors defeated the Hawks 5-2 on March 23.

“They have our number right now,” Bates said.

Central Valley lost 13-4 to Patterson on April 10.

The game was delayed for two hours in the first inning due to rain.

“I’m glad we were able to play,” Bates said. “Our offense came through. Defensively, we didn’t have it.”

Central Valley’s game against Oakdale on April 11 was rained out.

The Hawks and Bulldogs will resume the Western Athletic Conference portion of their schedules this week.

Central Valley will play host to Ceres High today at 4 p.m.