Central Valley’s varsity softball team ended the 2019 season on a positive note this past week.

The Hawks defeated the El Capitan Gauchos 8-2 in Central California Conference play on May 8 in Merced.

Central Valley posted a 7-14 overall record and finished in sixth place (2-10) during its first season in the CCC.

The Hawks previously competed in the Western Athletic Conference.

Central Valley beat four of its first six opponents this year.

Hawk pitcher Scarlett Lloyd was dominant in the circle against the Gauchos.

She totaled 13 strikeouts and just one walk in seven innings.

Lloyd gave up two runs and six hits.

Brianna Quiroz filled the stat sheet on offense during her final game with the Hawks.

She batted 5-for-5 from the plate with one homer, four RBIs and two runs.

Senior Alyssa Maeyama batted 2-for-5 with one double and two RBIs.

Isabelle Pelayo batted 2-for-5 with one run one RBI and two runs.

Giuliana Gutierrez batted 2-for-3 with two runs.

Lloyd batted 4-for-5 with one run.

Julia Roton batted 2-for-4 with one run.

Gabby Benenati batted 1-for-5 with one RBI.

Central Valley scored two runs in the top of the third inning, and three in both the fourth and fifth.

Falcons 9, Hawks 1

Third-place Atwater spoiled Central Valley’s Senior Day with a 9-1 victory on May 3.

Quiroz and Maeyama were honored before the contest.

Central Valley also recognized Atwater’s upperclassmen.

Lloyd allowed eight earned runs and eight hits with six strikeouts and four walks while tossing a complete game.

She singled on offense.

Gutierrez batted 1-for-3 with one double and one run.

Quiroz batted 1-for-2 with one RBI.

Benenati doubled.

Roton and Vicky Gudino both singled.

Dawgs bounce back

Ceres High School’s varsity softball program compiled a 19-5 overall record and won 13 of 14 games on its way to a first-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference during the regular season.

The Bulldogs went 6-10 and had the fourth-best team in the WAC (5-5) a year ago.

“We did better than I thought we’d do,” said Mike Corsaut, who came out of retirement to coach Ceres High. “The girls had fun again.”

The Bulldogs closed out WAC play with a 5-1 win over the Grace Davis Spartans on May 7 in Modesto.

Freshman pitcher Megan Yorba tallied seven strikeouts and one walk in seven innings.

She allowed one run and three hits.

Priscilla Chavez led the way on offense.

She batted 2-for-3 with one triple, one double, two RBIs and two runs.

Vianney Perez batted 1-for-4 with one homer, one RBI and two runs.

Destiny Ramirez batted 1-for-4 with one RBI.

Shania Evans doubled.

Cheralyn Durossette singled.

Ceres High cruised to a 10-2 win over host Mountain House on May 2.

Freshman pitcher Brooklyn Heffernan allowed one earned run and five hits with seven strikeouts and one walk in seven innings.

Heffernan batted 2-for-3 with one run.

Rebecca DeLeon batted 2-for-4 with one homer and four RBIs.

Perez batted 2-for-5 with one homer, two RBIs and two runs.

Isabel Vizcaino batted 1-for-2 with one RBI and three runs.

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

Lysaida Munoz batted 0-for-1 with one RBI and one run.

Durossette batted 1-for-4 with one run.

Evans doubled twice.

Ceres High earned the eighth seed for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-III playoffs thanks to its overall body of work, which included winning 19 games and 13 of 14 in league.

“I’m super proud of all the girls,” Corsaut said. “They all worked hard and did a great job.”

BASEBALL

Determined to bounce back after struggling to a 10-14 overall record and missing the postseason in 2018, Ceres High’s varsity baseball team secured its second playoff berth in three seasons this past week.

“It’s good for the program to get back to that spot,” infielder Brock DeWitt said. “We’re all excited. We get to keep playing.”

The Bulldogs earned the Western Athletic Conference’s third-and-final postseason spot after beating the Mountain House Mustangs twice on Senior Day at Art McRae Field on May 6.

Ceres High needed to win just one of the two games to eliminate Mountain House from the playoff hunt.

“We knew what we were playing for,” DeWitt said. “We ended up pulling it out.”

Ceres High improved to 15-13 overall and posted a 10-4 record in conference play

The Mustangs went 15-12 record and finished fourth in the WAC standings (7-7).

“Chemistry is a huge thing,” DeWitt said. “We’ve been playing as a team the whole year. Teams that don’t get along, it’s hard to play together. It’s hard to have.”

The Bulldogs dashed the Mustangs’ playoff hopes with a 10-5 win during Game 1.

The two teams totaled 24 hits.

Josh Pernetti batted 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs.

Jaden Borba batted 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

Gabe Flores batted 3-for-4 with one double, two RBIs and one run.

Justin Prestridge batted 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs.

Andrew Kommavong batted 1-for-4 with one double, one RBI and two runs.

Isaiah Alcorn batted 1-for-3 with one RBI and one run.

Brock Moore batted 2-for-3 with one run.

Moore scored once.

Prestridge started at pitcher.

He gave up three earned runs and 10 hits with four strikeouts and two walks in 51/3 innings.

Ceres High wrapped up the double-header with a hard-fought 2-1 victory.

The Bulldogs scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Freshman Noel Anaya was the winning pitcher.

He allowed no runs and no hits with two strikeouts and two walks while tossing two innings of relief.

Alcorn, Ceres High’s starter, received a no-decision.

He yielded one run and five hits with eight strikeouts and no walks in five innings.

The Bulldogs were limited to just five hits on offense.

Kommavong batted 1-for-2 with one double and one run.

Pernetti batted 1-for-3 with one run.

Borba, DeWitt and Alcorn all singled.

DeWitt, Moore and Gamez, Ceres High’s three upperclassmen, were recognized during the Senior Day ceremony.

DeWitt was accompanied by his father Jim and older brother Jimmy.

Jim and Jimmy both played baseball for Ceres High.

“It was fun for them to be back,” he said. “They were also infielders.”