The Ceres Blaze eight-and-under travel baseball team accomplished its goal while competing at the Pony West Zone Sacramento Pinto Player-Pitch Section Tournament.

Ceres advanced to Regionals after finishing in the top two at the eight-team, double-elimination tourney, staged June 30-July 6, at Whitney Ranch Park in Rocklin.

“For us to get that far is amazing,” head coach Ismael Ontiveros said. “It was a pleasant surprise. I thought we’d struggle because we’ve played a lot of baseball. We played eight games in eight days between the Pony Tournament and Rainbow Summer League.”

The Blaze won three of five games at the section tournament. “It was a grind,” Ontiveros said. “You got to make a two-hour drive to Rocklin. You have to get there an hour early. The kids were resilient.”

Ceres lost 10-2 to Bel Passi Select in the championship game on July 6.

“I’m very proud of the kids,” Ontiveros said. “They showed a good effort. They fought hard.”

Ceres cruised to a 15-4 victory over Rocklin Black in the semifinals on July 6.

“That secured us a bid for Regionals,” Ontiveros said. 

Ceres lost 4-0 to Bel Passi Select in the quarterfinals on July 5.

Ceres defeated Rocklin Black 10-4 on July 3 and Golden Eagle Gold 6-5 on June 30.