The Ceres Sizzle 12-and-under travel softball team continued its run of excellence this past weekend.

Ceres placed first for the third time this summer when it captured the Sizzle Summer Classic title on Sunday at the George Costa Ball Field Complex in Ceres.

"There was added pressure," head coach Vince Carvajal said. "You always want to win at home."

Ceres has played in four tournaments this summer.

The Sizzle finished first in Ceres, Riverbank and Newman, and second in Elk Grove.

"I knew this was going to be a good team after the first tournament," Carvajal said. "A lot of the girls played Sizzle last year. We have great hitting, pitching and defense. I'm really proud of them."

Second-seeded Ceres routed unseeded Newman 11-1 in the championship game on Sunday.

Ceres pitcher Marie Knights allowed just one run in five innings.

Knights batted 2-for-3 from the plate with three RBIs.

Kylie Robinson batted 2-for-3 with four RBIs.

Micaela Martinez batted 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

"We had good hitting and pitching," Carvajal said. "Everyone was hitting today. It was crazy."

Ceres shut out the Sizzle 10-and-under team 8-0 in the semifinals on Sunday.

The Sizzle won two of three games in seeding play on Saturday.

Ceres secured wins against the Sizzle 10s (14-5) and Newman (6-5).

The Sizzle lost to the top-seeded Modesto Fusion (11-5).

"They played better in this tournament," Carvajal said. "Their hitting was outrageous."

The Sizzle versus Sizzle games drew big crowds.

"It was really exciting, especially Saturday's game," Carvajal said. "It kind of got scary. They scored some runs on us and were on a roll. They were hitting. They played us tough. They have an awesome team."