Ceres High's and Central Valley's varsity baseball teams posted a combined record of 8-0 at the Art McRae Tournament this past week in Ceres.

The Bulldogs and Hawks placed first and third, respectively.

"I'm not disappointed," Central Valley head coach Derrick Goblirsch said. "We played good baseball all week."

The Bulldogs and Hawks both won all four of their games at the 12-team event.

Ceres High finished undefeated despite using different lineups.

Star pitcher Brad Bussard didn't log any playing time on the mound due to arm tendinitis. He contributed on offense and defense.

Standout pitcher Alan Marquez made just one start. He was the Bulldogs' No. 6 hitter and starting shortstop.

Brett Conway, Ceres High's main catcher, chipped in as an outfielder and pitcher as well.

Ceres High improved to 21-3 on the year and extended its unbeaten streak to 16 games.

"We really didn't talk about winning the tournament," said Bulldogs head coach John Bussard, whose team's main focus was to get healthy for its WAC series versus Central Catholic and the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. "We had other goals. We accomplished all of them. The best part of this season is how this group has matured as men."

The Bulldogs routed Orestimba, 11-1, in five innings for the title on Thursday at Art McRae Field.

The Warriors mustered just one run and two hits off Ceres High pitcher Evan Duran. Duran struck out eight batters and walked one.

Marquez batted 2-for-4 from the plate with one triple, one double, four RBIs and one run.

Brandon Machaco batted 1-for-4 with one triple, two RBIs and two runs.

Jimmy Bates batted 1-for-3 with two RBIs and one run.

Brad Bussard batted 2-for-4 with one double and two runs.

Isaiah Hernandez batted 1-for-1 with two runs.

Merrik Price and Dylan Canatsy both batted 1-for-3 with one run.

Brent Bussard had one RBI and one run.

Ceres High had its way with Kimball, 11-2, on Wednesday.

Canatsy had an effective outing on the mound, tallying seven strikeouts and four walks over five innings. He surrendered two runs and five hits.

Machado batted 4-for-4 with one triple, three runs and one stolen base.

Brad Bussard batted 1-for-1 with one double, two runs and one stolen base.

Marquez batted 1-for-1 with one triple, one RBI and one stolen base.

Bates batted 1-for-2 with one RBI.

Conway batted 1-for-4 with one RBI.

Brent Bussard drove in one run.

Blake Tobler scored twice.

Duran, Ramon Coral and Caleb McDade tallied one run each.

Cole Silva singled.

Marquez tossed a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts while leading Ceres High past Yerington, 3-0, on April 22.

Marquez batted 1-for-3 with one run at the plate.

Bates batted 2-for-3 with one RBI, one run and one stolen base.

Conway batted 2-for-3 with one RBI.

McDade scored once.

Price helped propel Ceres High to a 5-2 victory over Salesian on April 21.

Merrik allowed two runs and four hits with no strikeouts and two walks while starting at pitcher.

Hernandez batted 2-for-3 with one RBI, one run and one stolen base.

Conway batted 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run.

Bates batted 1-for-3 with one RBI and one run.

Marquez batted 1-for-3 with one RBI.

Brad Bussard batted 1-for-4 with one run and one stolen base.

Canatsy collected one RBI.

Brent Bussard scored once.

The Hawks, winners of their last eight games, also compiled a perfect 4-0 record at the McRae tourney.

Central Valley improved to 17-6 on the year.

"We got four solid starts out of our pitchers," Goblirsch said. "We played great defense. Offensively, we scored enough runs to get the job done."

Central Valley defeated Hughson 7-4 in the third-place game on Thursday.

Raul Godinez and Joseph Montalvo logged playing time at pitcher.

Godinez started.

Raul yielded two earned runs and four hits with four strikeouts and three walks in 62/3 innings.

Montalvo picked up the save in relief. Joseph faced one batter.

Godinez singled on offense.
Michael Ereso batted 2-for-3 with one double, two RBIs and one run.

Jorge Alvarez batted 1-for-5 with one RBI and two runs.

Michael Collins batted 1-for-1 with one RBI and one run.

Kendel Johnson batted 2-for-5 with one RBI and one stolen base.

Austin Burns batted 1-for-4 with one RBI.

Ben Ortiz batted 1-for-1 with one run.

Joseph Zuniga and Roberto Gutierrez both scored once.

Central Valley edged Yerington 4-2 on Wednesday.

Ereso gave the Hawks five strong innings on the mound.

Michael had six strikeouts and three walks.

He surrendered just one run and four hits.

Alvarez earned the save while tossing one inning of relief. He gave up one run and two hits with no strikeouts and one walk.

Johnson batted 1-for-3 with two RBIs and one run.

Zuniga batted 2-for-4 with one RBI.

Godinez batted 1-for-2 with one RBI.

Burns batted 1-for-2 with one run.

Alex Centeno chipped in with one run and one stolen base.

Ereso scored one run.

Gutierrez singled twice.

The Hawks pulled away for a 10-4 win against Kimball on April 22.

Montalvo, Central Valley's starting pitcher, gave up one earned run and five hits with four strikeouts and two walks in five innings.

Johnson batted 1-for-2 with one double, three RBIs, one run and one stolen base.

Godinez batted 1-for-3 with two RBIs and one stolen base.

Alvarez batted 2-for-4 with two runs.

Burns had one RBI and one run.

Ereso knocked in one run.

Collins and Rogelio Avina both scored twice.

Gutierrez and Logan Dowling added one run each.

Central Valley bested Riverbank 5-1 on April 21.

Collins pitched a complete game.

Michael had five strikeouts and two walks over seven innings.

He allowed one run and five hits.

Ortiz batted 1-for-4 with two RBIs and one run.

Christian Schneider batted 1-for-4 with two RBIs.

Alvarez batted 2-for-3 with one run.

Montalvo batted 1-for-4 with one run.

Andrew Brekke batted 1-for-3.

Johnson tallied one run and two stolen bases.

Centeno scored once.

The Hawks pushed four runs across the plate in the bottom of the first inning.

Ceres High earned the right to play for the Art McRae championship instead of Central Valley because it allowed fewer runs (7-4) through the first three games of the tournament.

The tournament featured a dozen teams, including Ceres High, Central Valley, Hughson, Waterford, Riverbank, Orestimba, Brookside Christian, Excel Academy, Kimball, Rio Vista, Salesian and Yerington.

A total of 24 games were played at two different sites, including Ceres High and Central Valley.

Ceres High and Central Valley have combined to win 38 of 47 games this season.

"It's great both of us are having success," Goblirsch said. "It shows we have a lot of talent in this town."

"Having two teams from the same town at the top of league is something this city should be greatly proud of," coach Bussard said. "We've worked really hard to put away all the animosity. We're all friends."