Two Ceres Youth Baseball Organization All-Star teams reached the finals of their home tournament earlier this month.

Players on the top two teams in each of the four age brackets, including 14-and-under, 12s, 10s and 8s, took home championship rings.

“I’m very proud of our program,” Vice President of Baseball Ismael Ontiveros said. “We had a smooth tournament. Sales for our snack bar were good. We heard zero complaints. People were happy. They were in a good mood.”

“Our three all-star teams were younger (than their competition),” he added. “That tells me they’re going to be very strong moving forward.”

The Ceres 12-and-under team finished second overall at the July 2-6 George Costa Tournament.

Ceres compiled a 2-1 record at the three-team event.

Ceres lost 8-0 to Newman in the title game on July 6.

Ceres topped the Ceres Dirt Dawgs 6-1 and Newman 12-10 in pool play on July 5.

Ceres placed in two of four tournaments this summer, including second at Costa and third at Bel Passi.

“The team showed improvement each time they took the field,” coach Renee Mendoza said. 

Carter Byrd, Silas Caro, Emilio Chaidez, Omar Elsumeri, Johnny Galindo, Lucas Garcia, Julius Garvin, Caleb Grimes, Adrian Malagon, Romo Mendoza, Ryan Mendoza, Isaac Mora and Aiden Pavan suited up for Ceres this season.

The Ceres eight-and-under team placed second in front of its home fans.

“All of the boys take pride in representing Ceres,” coach Randy Wheeler said. 

Ceres compiled a 2-2 record.

Ceres lost 14-4 to Red Shield in the finals on July 6.

Ceres won one of four games versus Red Shield this summer.

“They’re a good team,” Wheeler said. “They have a bunch of big boys. We have a very young group. But a lot of talented boys.” 

Ceres defeated the Ceres Dirt Dawgs 15-0 in the semifinals on July 6.

Ceres bested the Ceres Dirt Dawgs 12-8 and lost 15-9 to Red Shield in pool play on July 5.

Ceres placed in two of four tournaments this year, including second at both the Costa and Bel Passi events.

“I thought they showed a lot of heart,” Wheeler said. “They started to gel together well.”

Ceres had one of the youngest all-star teams in the area as its 13-player roster featured just two eight-year-olds, nine seven-year-olds and two six-year-olds.

Roman Raj, Zeke Goblirsch, Jeremiah Lopez, Zael Jones, Adam Valencia, Diego Santillan, Malaki Amkhamavong, Sebastian Delagrande, Adrian Barragan, Jaye Harrison, Evan Mendez, Mathew Avila and Michael Rojas all contributed to Ceres’ success. 

“We’re young,” Wheeler said. “It’s a learning process for these kids.”

The Ceres 10-and-under team posted an 0-3 record at the Costa tournament.

“It was a learning experience,” coach Rosario Espindola stated.

Ceres lost 7-2 to Turlock in the semifinals on July 6.

Ceres lost 9-2 to Turlock and 11-10 to Patterson in pool play on July 5.

Ceres placed in two of four tournaments, including third at both Newman and Gustine.

“I’ve been coaching most of the kids since the fall,” Espinodola said. “They showed a lot of growth.”

Elijah Cervantes, Sebastian Espindola, Alex Galvan, Lorenzo Garcia, Izaiah Lopez, Jace Merrill, Adrian Oliveros, Max Ortega, Daniel Pennington, Luis Sanchez-Arroyo and Gio Valenzuela made up Ceres’ 11-player roster.

“I’m excited for next season,” Espindola said. “Most of the boys should be coming back. More than half of our team are nine-year-olds.”

Ceres Youth Baseball changed the format of the Costa tournament to level the playing field.

Travel teams were not allowed to compete at the Ceres event.

“We’ve done that before in the past,” Ontiveros said. “You can see the difference when travel teams play in these types of tournaments. They manhandle all-star teams. Parents of all-star teams would get upset. We want the rec kids to get the opportunity to play in a more competitive environment, showcase their talent and play for championship rings.”

Fewer than 15 teams participated in the 2025 Costa Tournament.

Ceres didn’t field a Pony All-Star team this season.

“Our original date was June 27,” Ontiveros said. “We moved it to the following weekend because another organization was having their tournament that weekend. It turned out to be a mistake. A lot of teams were missing players and couldn’t commit. People lose interest the later the tournament is held.”

The 2026 George Costa Tournament will be staged Father’s Day weekend (June 19-21).

“By moving the tournament to an earlier date next summer, we’re hoping to get more commitments from other leagues,” Ontiveros said. “We already picked a date and we’re going to stick to the date.”