Losers of nine of its last 10 games, Central Valley’s varsity baseball team ended weeks of frustration by compiling a 3-1 record en route to a second-place tie with crosstown-rival Ceres High at the Art McRae Tournament this past week in Ceres.

“We could have won the tournament,” senior utility player Ryan Palecek said. “We lost the first game. We came out slow and sloppy. Besides that, we did really well. It was great to have a good showing.”

Central Valley closed out the tournament with an 8-0 win over Riverbank on April 25.

“We played clean defense,” said Palecek, whose team committed no errors against the Bruins. 

Hawk Tucker Tarap pitched a complete game.

He allowed no runs and just three hits with a career-high nine strikeouts and one walk in seven innings.

“He was on fire,” Palecek said. 

Tarap also accounted for two of Central Valley’s 12 hits on offense.

He collected one triple, one single and one run.

Alex Solis batted 3-for-3 with one homer, one double, two RBIs and three runs.

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

Derek Bolivar batted 1-for-3 with one double and one run.

Palecek batted 1-for-2 with one RBI.

Gabrial Lopez batted 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.

Joseph Mendez and Angel Vega both scored once.

Carlos Gutierrez Bonales and Angel Porras chipped in with one single apiece.

Central Valley edged Johansen 7-6 on April 24.

Sergio Solis improved his pitching record to 4-2.

He had five strikeouts in 31/3 innings of relief work.

He gave up no runs and just two hits. 

Sergio Solis batted 1-for-2 from the plate with one double, one RBI and two runs.

Alex Solis batted 2-for-4 with one double and two runs.

Lopez batted 1-for-3 with one double and two RBIs.

Palecek batted 0-for-3 with one RBI, one run and one walk.

Isaiah Hidalgo batted 1-for-1 with one RBI.

Bolivar batted 1-for-3 with one run.

Central Valley defeated Grace Davis 11-1 in six innings on April 23.

Alex Solis was the winning pitcher. 

He allowed one run and two hits with three strikeouts and one walk in three innings.

The Hawks batted .333 from the plate as a team.

Sergio Solis batted 1-for-2 with one double, two RBIs and two runs.

Porras batted 1-for-2 with two RBIs and one run.

Alex Solis batted 1-for-3 with one double, one RBI and two runs.

Lopez batted 3-for-3 with one double, one RBI and one run.

Gutierrez Bonales batted 1-for-3 with one RBI and one run.

Vega scored twice.

Hidalgo collected one RBI.

Mendez and Palecek contributed one run each.

Central Valley opened the tournament with a 12-1 loss to Modesto Christian in five innings on April 22.

“We didn’t hit the ball well and made too many errors,” Palecek said. 

Central Valley committed four errors.

The Hawks mustered just four hits.

Alex Solis batted 1-for-2 with one double and one run.

Palecek batted 1-for-2 with one RBI.

Lopez, Central Valley’s starting pitcher, surrendered just two earned runs and two hits with one strikeout and four walks in one inning.

Central Valley, 11-14 overall and 2-8 in the Central California Conference as of Monday, will close out league play this week with a pair of games against Buhach Colony.