Ceres High’s softball team has company atop the Western Athletic Conference standings.
The Bulldogs lost their first league game of the season, falling 12-5 at second-place Mountain House on April 9.
Los Banos moved into a tie for first-place in conference play with Ceres High.
“When you’re walking batters and making errors, that’s not a good combination,” head coach Mike Corsaut said. “And you can’t do that against good teams.”
Ceres High committed four errors on defense.
“We just didn’t play well,” Corsaut said. “Sometimes, you need a wakeup call.”
Ceres High totaled nine hits on offense.
Cole batted 2-for-4 from the plate with two RBIs.
Ava Montesdeoca batted 1-for-4 with one triple, one RBI and one run.
Bella Bravo batted 2-for-3 with one RBI.
The Bulldogs improved to 7-8 overall and 6-1 in the WAC following Thursday’s 22-3 mercy-rule victory against the host Grace Davis Spartans.
“We were focused,” Corsaut said. “We did what we were supposed to do. We hit the ball hard. Our pitching and defense was better.”
Ceres High totaled 14 hits and 13 walks on offense.
Montesdeoca batted 2-for-2 from the plate with one homer, one double, six RBI and four runs.
Cole batted 2-for-3 with one homer, one double, three RBIs and four runs.
Elizabeth Figueroa batted 2-for-3 with two doubles, three RBIs and one run.
Amaia Pritchett batted 1-for-3 with one RBI and three runs.
Maddie Schultz batted 1-for-2 with one RBI and two runs.
Makaela Brown batted 1-for-3 with one RBI and two runs.
Kyleigh Robinson batted 1-for-1 with one RBI and one run.
Kylie Bond batted 1-for-1 with two runs.
Cole totaled six strikeouts and just one walk while improving her pitching record to 5-5.
Central Valley’s softball team played with heavy hearts last week.
Hawk players presented a game ball to Central Valley head coach Jimmy Bates following Friday’s league game versus Patterson in Ceres. Scotty Smith, Bates’ uncle, passed away from cancer at the age of 55 that morning.
“They all wrote something on the ball,” Bates said. “They gave me a group hug. It meant a lot in the moment.”
Central Valley dropped to 7-11 overall and into a tie for fourth place in the Central California Conference standings (2-3) following its 4-0 loss to third-place Patterson.
“We didn’t execute when we had opportunities,” Bates said. “
The Hawks collected seven hits.
Gabriela Delatorre, Valerie Espinoza, Priscilla Hamidat, Reylena Herrera, Abigail Krauss, Brooklynn Steeley and Jannet Valencia all singled.
Central Valley lost 6-0 at first-place Golden Valley on Wednesday.
“We got beat by a really good pitcher,” Bates said. “I thought we had really competitive at-bats.”
Central Valley totaled six hits in defeat.
Steeley batted 2-for-3 with one double.
Hamidat, Herrera, Valencia and Payton McConnell all singled.
