Crosstown-rivals Ceres High and Central Valley faced off in four varsity sports this spring, including boys volleyball, baseball, competitive cheer and boys golf.
The Bulldogs and Hawks finished with .500 (3-3) records against each other.
Ceres High experienced success versus Central Valley in boys volleyball and boys golf.
The Hawks topped the Bulldogs in baseball and competitive cheer.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Ceres High won a pair of matches against Central Valley.
The host Bulldogs cruised to a 3-1 victory over the Hawks on Feb. 24 at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.
Visiting Ceres High shut out Central Valley 3-0 on March 3.
Kelly Heese, second-year head coach of the Bulldogs, beat her former team.
“I understand it’s a rivalry, but to me, every opponent is a rival,” she said. “I don’t prepare for them any differently.”
“The kids get fired up,” Heese added. “I wished they competed the same way against everybody else.”
BASEBALL
Central Valley’s baseball earned a two-game sweep of Ceres High in March.
The Hawks totaled eight hits and 12 runs versus the Bulldogs.
Central Valley pitchers Diego Delahoya and Ryan Estermann were dominant on the mound.
“Diego and Ryan set the tone for us,” Hawks’ head coach Brad Bussard said. “I’m definitely not surprised. We feel good when they’re going against any team.”
“Offensively, we made hard contact in both games,” he added. “We played all-round, good defense. We executed everything we wanted to.”
Visiting Central Valley shut out Ceres High 8-0 on March 4 at Art McRae Field.
Estermann allowed no runs and two hits with 13 strikeouts and one walk in seven innings.
He batted 1-for-4 from the plate with one double, one RBI and one run.
Hawk Miguel Espinoza batted 1-for-4 with one double, two RBIs and one run.
Garret Garcia batted 1-for-3 with one RBI and one run.
Freshman Fernando Dominguez batted 2-for-4 with two doubles and one run.
Chris Garcia and Juan Alonzo both batted 1-for-2 with one RBI.
Landyn Hudson started at pitcher for Ceres High.
Bulldog Jorge Gonzalez singled on offense.
Ceres High lost 4-0 at Central Valley on March 3.
Delahoya had nine strikeouts and one walk at pitcher.
He allowed no runs and two hits.
Fernando Dominguez batted 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
Caiden Whittle batted 1-for-3 with one run.
Estermann drove in one run.
Bulldog pitcher Jorge Gonzalez gave up two earned runs and two hits with five strikeouts.
Joshua Prestridge and Vincent Castrejon both singled.
Central Valley has won its last six games versus Ceres High dating back to the 2021 season.
The Bulldogs topped the Hawks twice in 2020.
STUNT CHEER
Central Valley’s and Ceres High’s inaugural competitive stunt cheer teams faced off for the first time.
The Hawks prevailed 16-2 while competing against the Bulldogs during Central California Conference action on April 3 in Atwater.
BOYS GOLF
Ceres High edged Central Valley by 12 strokes, 196-208, in non-league play on April 24 at St. Stanislaus Golf Course.
“I thought it was going to be close and it was,” Bulldogs’ head coach Ron Edwards said.
Ceres High’s Jayson Homsombath earned low-medalist honors with a 33.
Bulldog teammates Miles Cabling, Zachary Chastain, Benjamin Larranaga shot 35, 38, 44 and 46, respectively.
Dillon Brush led Central Valley with a 36.
Hawk teammates William Montez, Jadon Rafatti, Daniel Castillo and Daniel Jacinto shot 37, 41, 46 and 48, respectively.
