The Ceres Sizzle 16-and-under travel softball team accomplished a lot this season.

Ceres reached the finals in five of six tournaments.

“I didn’t expect to make it to that many championships since we played at a higher level,” Sizzle head coach Nikole Ferrel said. “We could have played 14u. We decided to go up to 16u.”

“I just wanted them to compete,” she added. “Bringing home the t-shirts and medals was a bonus.”

Ceres capped off its 2023 campaign with a third-place finish at the NSA Pacific Coast Western Nationals last week.

Held July 26-30 at Pedretti Fields in Turlock, the tournament featured a combined 12 teams from the 18u and 16u age groups.

“The final four teams were really good,” Ferrel said. “Obviously, we wanted to be in the championship game. We were one win short of getting there. It’s going to make us work harder next year. We’re still proud of them.”

Ceres amassed a 4-2-1 overall record at Western Nationals.

“The two teams left in the tournament beat us."

The Porterville Magic defeated the Sizzle in a win-or-go-home game on Saturday.

“We ran out of hits." 

Prior to losing to Porterville, Ceres staved off elimination by reeling off back-to-back victories.

The Sizzle topped the Cen Cal Angels and Brawlers by identical 6-4 scores on Saturday.

Ceres dropped into the loser’s bracket after losing 6-2 to the eventual-champion Sonora Stack on Saturday.

The Sizzle opened elimination-bracket play with a 5-0 victory over the Valley Heat on Friday.

Ceres bested the Valley Heat 2-0 and tied the Sonora Stack 4-4 in pool play on Thursday.

The Sizzle took first twice, second twice and third once this season.

“We’re just really proud of them,” Ferrel said. “The girls played really well.”

Ceres could return more than a dozen of its players in 2024, including Natalie Corella, Bella Delatorre, Amaia Ferrel, Lizzy Figueroa, Jackie Guillory, Selina Luiz, Chloe Moreno, Gabby Ortiz, Tatiana Ortiz, Kyleigh Robinson, Des Sorci and Emma Velasco.

“They’ll be a lot better next season,” Coach Ferrel said.