Modesto’s Downey High upsets Merced in Sac-Joaquin Section D-II soccer opener
Downey made a first-half goal stand up in a 1-0 upset of Merced in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs.
In No. 2 Merced’s first-ever home playoff game Tuesday, No. 15 Downey took advantage of a free kick with the setting sun at its back in the 13th minute, forcing a Jessika McClesky save and then pouncing on a rebound. The Knights held on from there for the upset in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II first-round game.
Downey will travel to No. 7 Folsom for a quarterfinal game while Merced is left pondering what might have been.
An unlikely source proved the difference for the Knights (11-5-3).
Porsche Rodriguez entered the game when one of her teammates was injured in the opening five minutes. The freshman found herself in the right place at the right time when Merced (14-5-3) gave away a bad foul about 35 yards out. Vannessa Marin sent a high, arching shot on frame that McClesky had to find in the sun and then punch off the crossbar with a last-second save. She fell to the pitch on the save and was powerless to do anything about Rodriguez’s tap in.
“She’s always been aggressive and we needed her to step in and give us some good minutes tonight,” Downey coach Daniel Ornelas said. “She made the most of her chance.”
Gregori 3, Pleasant Grove 2 at Gregori – The No. 3-seeded Jaguars opened the Section Division I playoffs with a win over Pleasant Grove. They’ll stay at home for their second-round game Thursday at 6:30 p.m. against No. 6 seed Bella Vista, which defeated Turlock High 4-0 to advance. The 11th-seeded Bulldogs (12-5-3) were out-shot 24-2 en route to a season-ending loss.
Baseball
Top seed on the line – The Gregori Jaguars and Beyer Patriots have been crowned baseball co-champions of the Modesto Metro Conference. But there’s more business to be settled today.
The teams will meet today at Downey at 3:45 p.m. to decide the top seed in the upcoming Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. It will be a rubber match of sorts. The Patriots (19-6, 11-1) defeated Gregori 6-2 on March 25 but, two days later, the Jaguars (19-5, 11-1) answered emphatically 12-4.
“You can’t take away the championship. You’ll have that forever,” said Gregori coach Rob Steves, whose Jaguars shared the title last year with Enochs. “(Today’s) game will not define this team. It’s for a seed.”
Since its loss to Beyer, Gregori – which started the season 1-4 – has won 14 straight. Meanwhile, Beyer ran its winning streak to seven in a row. The Patriots, who edged Johansen 5-4 on Monday, downed the Vikings on Tuesday 5-2.
Merced 5, Atwater 1 at Atwater – Lawrence Anderson went the distance on the mound, and the Bears clinched a playoff berth. Anderson limited the Falcons (15-11 , 7-7 Central California Conference) to four hits and one unearned run. He pitched around five Bears errors with the help of 14 ground-ball outs.
Turlock 5, Buhach Colony 3 at Atwater – Tate Soderstrom homered and drove in two runs for the Bulldogs (16-9, 10-4), who finished two games behind champion Pitman in the Central California Conference race. Pitman (21-5, 12-2) closed the regular season by beating Golden Valley 14-1.
Marcus Lopez went the distance and got the win for Turlock over BC (10-13, 4-10).
Escalon 17, Modesto Christian 1 at Modesto Christian – The Cougars (14-11-1, 9-6) needed only five innings to blitz the Crusaders (7-10, 5-10). Escalon tied with Ripon for second place in the Trans Valley (both trailed champion Hughson), but the Cougars took two out of three over the Indians.
Ceres 8, El Capitan 2 at Merced – Winning pitcher Brad Bussard went 2-for-3 with a triple to lead the Western Athletic Conference champion Bulldogs (22-5, 11-1) to their second win in as many days over the Gauchos (12-10-1, 8-4). Johnny Vasquez tripled for El Capitan. The back-to-back wins sealed Ceres’ second straight WAC title.
Tennis
Davis-Yolo 8, Downey 1 at Davis – Nick Mendez turned in the Knights’ only victory of the afternoon, handling Dan Segedin in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs.
Ceres 8, Oakdale 1 at Ceres – Nolan McCaig and Julio Ochoa, the Bulldogs’ No. 1 and No. 2 singles players, respectively, didn’t drop a game in straight sets victories that propelled Ceres to Monday’s second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs. The Bulldogs (25-0) will put their perfect record on the line against Kimball in the semifinals Monday at Ceres High.
This story was originally published May 5, 2015 at 11:46 PM with the headline "Modesto’s Downey High upsets Merced in Sac-Joaquin Section D-II soccer opener."