Ceres High’s and Central Valley’s varsity baseball teams continued their crosstown rivalry this season.
The Bulldogs beat the Hawks twice in non-conference play.
“Obviously, the games are important,” Ceres High senior utility player Justin Prestridge said. “It means more to everybody on the team to beat CV. They’re our crosstown rivals. It’s fun playing against friends and old teammates.”
“Not being in our league anymore changes the dynamics for us,” Central Valley leader Derrick Goblirsch said. “It’s still important to the guys. But in the overall scope of things, it (winning or losing) is not going to make our break our season. It doesn’t affect where we finish in league.”
Ceres High pulled away for a 6-2 win over host Central Valley on March 2.
Bulldog starting pitcher Noel Anaya tossed a complete game.
He gave up two earned runs and six hits with three strikeouts and two walks in seven innings.
Gabriel Flores led the way on offense as he batted 2-for-4 from the plate with one triple, one RBI and one run.
Andrew Kommavong batted 1-for-2 with one RBI and one run.
Xavier Pompa batted 1-for-2 with two runs.
Roman Aguinaga batted 1-for-4 with one RBI.
Josh Prestridge tallied one run.
Justin Prestridge singled.
Gabrial Lopez, Central Valley’s starting pitcher, earned a no-decision.
He had seven strikeouts and five walks in five innings.
Lopez gave up one earned run and one hit.
Hawk Isaiah Hidalgo batted 1-for-3 from the plate with one double and one run.
Ryan Estermann and Sergio Solis both batted 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Xavier Valencia scored once.
Lopez doubled.
Tucker Tarap and Angel Vega each collected one single.
“We got guys on base but couldn’t get timely hits,” Derrick Goblirsch said. “That was the difference. They took advantage of their opportunities.”
Tied at 2-2, the Bulldogs scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning and one in the seventh.
Ceres High edged Central Valley 6-5 on Feb. 29 at Art McRae Field.
Isaac Sosa was the winning pitcher.
He had four strikeouts in 51/3 innings.
Flores, Kommavong, Anaya, Isac Cordova and Josh Prestridge all contributed on offense.
Flores batted 2-for-2 with one double, two RBIs and one run.
Cordova batted 1-for-1 with one RBI and two runs.
Prestridge batted 1-for-2 with one RBI and one run.
Kommavong scored a pair of runs.
Anaya tallied one run.
Solis started at pitcher for the Hawks.
He yielded five earned runs and four hits with three strikeouts and four walks in five innings.
Solis batted 1-for-3 with one RBI and one run.
Brandon Ramirez batted 1-for-2 with one RBI
Lopez batted 1-for-4 with one run.
Estermann collected one RBI.
Hidalgo and Vega each had one run and one stolen base.
Tarap and Adrian Garcia both scored once.
Omar Navarro singled.
The Hawks put a scare into the Bulldogs by scoring four times in the top of the seventh inning.
“It’s always something you look forward to,” Justin Prestridge said while talking about the crosstown showdown. “There’s no tension between the teams, which is good.”
The Ceres High-Central Valley crosstown series also pitted brother against brother.
Clinton Goblirsch, Derrick’s older sibling, coaches the Bulldogs.
Clinton improved his head-to-head record versus Derick to 9-2.
Central Valley beat Ceres High twice (6-3, 7-6) last season. “We didn’t think about the brother-versus-brother matchup,” Justin Prestridge said. “We want to win every time we step in between the lines.”
