Rivals Central Valley and Ceres High faced off in six varsity sports this spring, including baseball, boys volleyball, boys golf, softball, swimming and track and field.
The Bulldogs had a .636 winning percentage versus the Hawks.
Ceres High had a combined record of 7-4 versus Central Valley.
The Bulldogs swept the Hawks in boys volleyball, softball and track and field.
Ceres High split with Central Valley in swimming.
Central Valley topped Ceres High twice in baseball and once in boys golf.
BASEBALL
Central Valley’s baseball team topped Ceres High twice en route to claiming its first-ever league championship.
The first-place Hawks (14-0) cruised to a 9-1 win over the second-place Bulldogs (10-4) in Western Athletic Conference play on April 17 at Central Valley.
Central Valley totaled 13 hits.
Ezequiel Verduzco batted 2-for-3 with one triple, two RBIs and one run against his former team.
Andre Flores batted 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one run.
Fernando Dominguez batted 1-for-3 with two RBIs and one run.
Central Valley pitcher Nicholas Dominguez allowed no runs and one hit with five strikeouts and four walks.
The Hawks won the first game, 1-0, versus the Bulldogs on April 15 at Art McRae Field.
Chris Garcia pitched a complete-game shutout versus Ceres High. The southpaw allowed no runs and three hits with 13 strikeouts and two walks in seven innings.
Ceres High pitcher Mario Vargas gave up one run and two hits with three strikeouts and four walks.
Hawk Caden Mendonca batted 1-for-3 from the plate with one double and one RBI.
Carter Hernandez batted 0-for-2 with one run.
Flores singled.
Central Valley broke a 0-0 tie in the top of the fourth inning. Hernandez scored from third on Mendonca’s two-out double.
The Hawks have won their last 11 games against the Bulldogs dating back to the 2020-21 school year.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Ceres High’s fourth-place boys volleyball team (8-6) earned bragging rights with a two-match sweep of sixth-place Central Valley (3-11).
The Bulldogs shut out the Hawks 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 25-5) at home in Western Athletic Conference play on April 9 at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.
Central Valley’s Garrett Akiona had 14 assists, 12 blocks and three digs against Ceres High.
Elias Espinoza had 11 blocks and one kill.
Isaias Quijano had 10 blocks.
Ceres High dashed Central Valley’s hopes for a comeback by winning the third set by a score of 25-5. The Hawks never posed a threat.
The Bulldogs won the first meeting 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-23) versus the host Hawks on March 17.
David Luna led Central Valley with 12 digs and one ace.
Nicolas Garcia had eight kills and four digs.
Dominic Gudino had five kills, two aces and one dig.
BOYS GOLF
Central Valley’s boys golf team finished 70 strokes ahead of Ceres High at the Western Athletic Conference Championships on April 28 at the par-72 Dryden Park Golf Course.
The fourth-place Hawks and sixth-place Bulldogs posted team scores of 512 and 582, respectively.
Freshman Adolfo Diaz led Central Valley with a 17-over-par 89.
Juniors William Montez and Emmanuel Campos finished with rounds of 96 and 99, respectively.
Junior Guranjan Singh and sophomore Luke Garcia posted identical scores of 114.
Zack Chastain led Ceres High with a 101.
Sean Johnson (115), Roy Randaz (115), Alexander Ortega (116) and Michael Krepela (135) rounded out the Bulldogs’ scorecard.
SOFTBALL
Ceres High’s Western Athletic Conference-champion softball team bested fourth-place Central Valley twice this season.
The Bulldogs (12-2) earned a two-game sweep of the Hawks (7-7) with a 19-3 road victory on April 30.
Ceres High’s Alizae Cole improved her pitching record to 10-4. She gave up three runs and four hits with three strikeouts and one walk in five innings.
The Bulldogs totaled 21 hits.
Cole batted 3-for-4 with three doubles, one RBI and one run.
Ava Montesdeoca batted 3-for-4 with one homer, four RBIs and three runs.
Amaia Pritchett batted 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs.
The Hawks collected just four hits.
Brooklynn Steeley batted 2-for-2 from the plate with one homer, one double, two RBIs and two runs.
Gabriela Delatorre batted 1-for-2 with one run.
Monster Prudhel singled.
Ceres High topped Central Valley 10-0 at home in five innings on April 2.
Cole notched her second no-hitter of her career.
She gave up no runs and no hits with six strikeouts and two walks in five innings.
Cole also starred on offense as she accounted for two of Ceres High’s 12 hits.
She collected two doubles, three RBIs and two runs in two at-bats.
Montesdeoca batted 3-for-3 with one triple, two doubles, one RBI and two runs.
Elizabeth Figueroa batted 3-for-3 with one RBI and two runs.
SWIMMING
Ceres High School’s swim program secured a split while competing against crosstown-rival Central Valley during the final week of the Western Athletic Conference regular season.
Ceres High’s fifth-place boys team (3-4) earned a 78-58 victory versus sixth-place Central Valley (2-5).
Lorenzo Gradilla, Jesus Sanchez, Jose Carranza, Zalan Arvai, Jaxon Merrill, Daniel Tubera, Rowan Ramirez, Jose Gomez Hernandez and Elijah Rodriguez led the Bulldogs.
Zack Esparza, Ari Luman, Julian Bustillos, Sunny Breshears and Niels Rodriguez led the Hawks.
Central Valley’s fourth-place girls team (4-3) prevailed 88-67 while battling seventh-place Ceres High (1-6).
Zhaira Brar, Joellene Roton, Andrea Alcantar Alvarado, Brianna Barraza, Alaney Gonzalez, Maddy Daniels, Natalie Southavongsa, Mikayla Young, Mia Mendoza, Alexa Sedano and Bianey Martinez Zepeda led the Hawks.
Layla Abraham, Jaden Stahl, Eva Onsurez Lopez, Jessie Blevins, Heaven Vasquez, Mariana Cortez, Megan Sather, Alana Inahara, Andrea Lopez, Lisbeth Sandoval and Genesis Raya led the Bulldogs.
TRACK & FIELD
Ceres High’s track and field program swept Central Valley during the opening week of the Western Athletic Conference dual season on March 12 at its newly-renovated football stadium.
Ceres High’s first-place boys team (7-0) coasted to a 111-15 win against sixth-place Central Valley (1-5-1).
Ceres High’s fourth-place girls team (4-3) posted an 82-43 victory over fifth-placeCentral Valley (3-4).
