Local high school baseball tournaments get underway Monday
It’s Easter, and you know what that means: brightly colored eggs, chocolate bunnies and high school baseball tournaments.
Well, the tournaments don’t get underway until Monday, but you get the point.
The 46th annual Dick Windemuth Easter Tournament, the 56th annual Fran Oneto/Atwater-Winton Lions Easter Tournament and the fifth annual Art McRae Lions Club Tournament will be contested this week at ballparks around the Stanislaus District.
The Windemuth tournament features Modesto, Johansen, Ripon and Bradshaw Christian (Sacramento) in one pool and Davis, Downey, Beyer and Patterson in another.
Beyer, the first-place team in the Modesto Metro Conference standings, is the reigning champion.
“We find out a lot about guys during tournaments like these,” Patriots coach Dom Duran said. “It creates a whole different atmosphere. It preps our team for a pressure situation. There’s nothing like playoffs: Lose and go home. This is a sneak peek. Last year, it really prepped us for the playoffs. It really sparked my team for the next level of competition.”
Like the Windemuth, the Atwater-Winton tournament features eight teams – Atwater, Livingston, El Capitan, Pacheco, Los Banos, San Leandro, Redwood Christian (San Lorenzo) and St. Joseph (Alameda) – playing four games in four days at Fireman’s Memorial Ballpark. Last year, the host Falcons won their tournament for the first time in 14 years with a win over Los Banos.
The McRae tourney has a bit of a different format, with 10 teams playing four games over four days at Ceres and Central Valley high schools.
Co-hosts Ceres and Central Valley, along with Central Catholic, Riverbank, Waterford, Orestimba, Kimball, Rio Vista, Brookside Christian and Yerington (Nev.) will take part.
EASTER BASEBALL TOURNAMENTS
Monday
Dick Windemuth (at Modesto High): Johansen vs. Modesto, 9 a.m.; Davis vs. Beyer, 11:30 a.m.; Patterson vs. Downey, 2 p.m.; Bradshaw Christian vs. Ripon, 4:30 p.m.
Fran Oneto (at Fireman’s Memorial Ballpark, Atwater): St. Joseph (Alameda) vs. Pacheco, 10 a.m.; Redwood Christian (San Lorenzo) vs. Los Banos, 1 p.m.; El Capitan vs. Los Banos, 4 p.m.; Livingston vs. Atwater, 7 p.m.
Art McRae (at Central Valley High): Brookside Christian vs. Rio Vista, 10 a.m.; Waterford vs. Brookside Christian, 12:45 p.m. Central Catholic vs. Central Valley, 3:30 p.m. At Ceres High: Kimball vs. Riverbank, 12:45 p.m.; Orestimba vs. Ceres, 3:30 p.m.
This story was originally published April 4, 2015 at 10:38 PM with the headline "Local high school baseball tournaments get underway Monday."