Win clinches WAC baseball title for Ceres
Ceres High School scored three unearned runs in the first three innings and held on for a 4-2 win over El Capitan to clinch the Western Athletic Conference baseball championship Monday.
The Gauchos (12-9-1, 8-3 WAC) went into the two-game series needing a sweep to win the conference title.
“Sai (Davuluri) threw better than he had all year,” Gauchos coach Aaron Ruiz said. “He kept their hitters off balance. They’re really aggressive, and he limited them to four hits. Unfortunately, we didn’t carry the leather behind him.”
Izaiah Hernandez led off the bottom of the first with a single. He was then sacrificed to second and advanced to third on an error, which enabled him to score on a groundout by Brad Bussard to give Ceres (21-5, 10-1) a 1-0 lead.
A dropped fly ball in the third inning plated two more runs for the Bulldogs to extend the lead to 3-0.
It’s the second consecutive WAC title for the Bulldogs, who shared the crown last year with Central Catholic.
The teams play again today in Merced at 4 p.m.
Gregori 12, Downey 1, at Downey – The Jags scored seven runs in the third inning and cruised to a Modesto Metro Conference victory. Gregori shortstop Tyler Janitz was 2 for 3 with three RBIs, while teammates Anthony Urrutia and Dom Carillo each had two hits. On the mound, Anthony Dugo, Cody Patterson and John Alstatt combined on a three-hitter as Gregori remained tied for first place with Beyer.
Beyer 5, Johansen 4 at Johansen – Trailing the last-place Vikings 3-2 after three innings, the Patriots scored three runs in the fourth inning – all on Johansen errors – and held on for the victory. With the win, Beyer improved to 10-1 in the MMC and remained in a tie for first with Gregori. Beyer hosts Johansen today at 3:45 while Gregori hosts Downey. Should the frontrunners remain knotted, a playoff will be held Wednesday to determine which co-champ earns the No. 1 playoff seed.
Sierra 10, Weston Ranch 2, in Stockton – The Timberwolves maintained their one-game lead in the Valley Oak League race with a lopsided victory. Jakob Gallagher went the distance, striking out 10 and walking one. Gallagher was also one of six Sierra players – Mateo Hernandez, Jake Souza, Nick Oseguera, Tanner Peterson and Hunter Johnson were the others – to collect two hits. The Timberwolves can wrap up the outright league title today when they host the Cougars.
Central Catholic 12, Lathrop 0 (5) – The host Raiders scored eight runs in the third inning to take a 12-0 lead and went on to record a five-inning win. John Weathered had two hits and drove in three runs, while Ryan Vierra had two hits and two RBIs. Kyle Costa and Sam Mundt also had two RBIs.
Softball
Millennium 17, Turlock Christian 4 in Tracy – Cassie Balswick was 2 for 2 and Alexis Smith was 2 for 3 for the Eagles. The Falcons are a half-game back of first-place Elliot Christian and can grab a share of the Central California Athletic Alliance title today in Turlock.
Calaveras 6, Argonaut 1 in San Andreas – The Redskins broke open a tie game with five runs in the sixth inning. The win clinched the Mother Lode League’s No. 2 playoff seed for Calaveras (14-3). Had Argonaut (12-5) won, the teams would have been tied for second behind league leader Linden with one game to play. Linden will be the league’s No. 1 playoff seed, followed by Calaveras and Argonaut.
Tennis
Summerville 6, Denair 3 in Denair – The Bears, the No. 3 seed out of the Mother Lode League, defeated Southern League No. 2 Denair in the Sac-Joaquin Section coed playoffs. Summerville will take on Pioneer Valley League champ Placer today at 3:30 p.m.
This story was originally published May 5, 2015 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Win clinches WAC baseball title for Ceres."