Central Valley's varsity baseball program co-hosted the Art McRae Easter Tournament with Ceres High this past week.
The Hawks won two of four games en route to a fifth-place finish at the eight-team event.
Central Valley improved to 5-17-1 overall.
"It means a lot to perform at a high level at our own tournament," Hawks head coach Derrick Goblirsch said. "It's definitely a confidence booster for us. We were very competitive. We're getting better. We're still not where we want to be."
Central Valley routed Waterford 13-3 for fifth place in six innings Thursday afternoon.
"We finished the tournament on a high note," Goblirsch said. "All of our guys pitched well. We had a lot of two-out clutch hits. That's something we've been struggling with all year."
Hawk Israel Anaya pitched a complete game.
Anaya had four strikeouts and one walk in six innings.
He gave up three runs and six hits.
"It's definitely one of his better performances," Goblirsch said.
Israel chipped in on offense with two RBIs and one run.
Gabriel Campos batted 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs.
Leandro Mercado batted 2-for-2 with one RBI and two runs.
Daniel Valencia batted 2-for-2 with one RBI and two runs.
Sophomore Alex Solis batted 1-for-3 with two RBIs, one run and two stolen bases.
Joel Branco batted 2-for-2 with three runs.
Robert Garcia had two RBIs and one run.
Gabriel Quezada scored once.
"Our approach at the plate was much better than it had been," Goblirsch said. "We were patient. We had some timely hits."
Central Valley tallied one run in each of the first two innings, seven in the fifth and four in sixth on its way to defeating Waterford by the mercy rule.
Central Valley committed seven errors during Thursday morning's 12-3 loss to eventual-champion Kimball.
The Hawks mustered just three hits on offense.
Garcia batted 1-for-3 with one double and two RBIs.
Campos batted 1-for-2 with one triple and one RBI.
Solis batted 1-for-3 with one run.
Valencia and Jason Perez both scored once.
Ahead 3-0, Central Valley allowed five runs in the top of the third inning.
The Jaguars broke the game open by scoring two runs in each of the fourth, sixth and seventh innings.
Solis, Central Valley's starting pitcher, yielded three earned runs and six hits with four strikeouts and one walk in four innings.
Hurt by five errors, Central Valley sustained a 2-1 loss while battling Riverbank on Wednesday.
Hawk pitcher Ty Borchardt totaled five strikeouts and just one walk over six innings.
He gave up no earned runs and three hits.
Central Valley totaled four hits.
Garcia batted 1-for-2 with one RBI.
Solis batted 1-for-3 with one run.
Campos and Valencia both singled.
The Hawks fell behind 2-0 in the top of the fifth inning.
Central Valley cut the deficit to one run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Central Valley opened the McRae tourney with a 10-1 win over Delhi on April 17.
Chase Ledbetter batted 2-for-3 with one double, four RBIs and one run.
Garcia batted 2-for-3 with one RBI and two runs.
Solis batted 3-for-4 with one RBI and one run.
Campos batted 1-for-3 with one RBI and one run.
Perez had one RBI and two runs.
Mercado had one RBI and one run.
Anaya and Quezada both scored once.
Central Valley exploded for nine runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
"Our goal was to get better this week," Goblirsch said. "We definitely accomplished that. We seemed like we were a completely different ball club. The attitudes are much better. The confidence is there."
The Hawks snapped a 13-game losing streak with a 9-8 win over Pacheco in Western Athletic Conference play the previous week.
Fifth-place Central Valley (1-9) will face third-place Patterson (5-5) twice this week.
The Hawks will battle the host Tigers tomorrow at 4 p.m.
"Our league is tough this year," Goblirsch said. "We're focused on getting better each day."
