In desperate need of a win, Central Valley High School's varsity baseball team broke into the victory column in Western Athletic Conference play for the first time since 2014 this past week.

The Hawks won one of their two games against the Pacheco Panthers and improved to 1-3 in the WAC standings.

Central Valley snapped an 18-game losing streak.

"It's a confidence builder for us moving forward," Central Valley head coach Derrick Goblirsch said.

Central Valley, which has a 9-8-2 overall record, couldn't afford to open conference play with four consecutive losses.

Central Valley beat Pacheco 4-0 on Wednesday in Ceres.
"It's been a while since we've gotten a league win," Goblirsch said. "We tried not to talk about it (the losing streak) a lot. But it's something that weighed on the kids' minds. For our seniors, it's their first league win."

Hawk sophomore pitcher Israel Anaya (3-0) allowed no runs and just three hits with four strikeouts and three walks in seven effective innings.

"He pitched a little bit for us last year," Goblirsch said. "He wasn't one of our main starters. That experience was big for him coming into this season. He's definitely been competitive."

Moses Ghiorso batted 2-for-2 from the plate with one RBI and three stolen bases.

Adrian Alvarez batted 2-for-3 with one run.

Tyler Borchardt batted 1-for-2 with one RBI.

Gabriel Quezada drove in one run.

Mikie Lopez, Leandro Mercado and Carlos Rodriguez all scored once.

Robert Nieto chipped in with one single and one stolen base.

Central Valley tallied one run in the bottom of the fourth inning and three in the sixth.

The Panthers edged the Hawks 9-7 on Friday in Los Banos.

Both teams overcame deficits.

Down 7-6, Pacheco scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The Hawks and Panthers combined for 13 hits and five errors during the game.

Rodriguez batted 2-for-4 with one double, one RBI and one run.

Anaya batted 1-for-2 with one RBI.

Alvarez batted 1-for-2 with one run.

Quezada batted 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.

Alex Solis batted 1-for-4 with one run.

Ghiorso scored twice and stole one base.

Lopez and Nieto finished with one run each.

Borchardt, Central Valley's starting pitcher, earned a no-decision.

Tyler had three strikeouts and five walks in 22/3 innings.

He gave up six runs (five earned) and three hits.

Pacheco improved to 1-5 in the WAC.

Central Valley will play at first-place El Capitan (5-1) today and host to the Gauchos on Friday.

Both WAC games will begin at 4 p.m.

"Every game in our league is a tough one," Goblirsch said. "We have to battle to the very end."