Softball roundup: Ceres High’s Heffernan strikes out 11 in 16-0 league win over Lathrop
Ceres High goes into each season with one goal: Win league.
The Bulldogs (5-6) got off to a good start on Wednesday afternoon with a dominant 16-0 win over Lathrop in their Western Athletic Conference opener.
“Historically, we’ve been really good at softball, so our goal is to win the league, go to the playoffs and see what happens after that.” said coach Mike Corsaut.
The Bulldogs have had tough tests that have contributed to their six losses. They have played Lincoln (Stockton) twice, Central Catholic and St. Mary’s, all of which rank in the Sac-Joaquin Section top 15, according to MaxPreps.
“We’ve played in two tournaments already and we took our lumps in those tournaments, but the thing is, it’s making us better, we’re playing good competition.” Corsaut said.
Ceres is led by its pitcher, San Francisco State commit Brooklyn Heffernan, who gave up just one hit and struck out 11 Spartans. As a senior, she is looking forward to having a full season for the first time since she was a freshman.
“I’m excited,” Heffernan said. “It kind of sucks that it’s my senior year, but I’m excited because we have a good group of girls, so it should be fun. I’m super proud of everybody because everyone’s worked hard. So I’m so excited to see what happens.”
Ceres got off to a quick start Wednesday, scoring 12 runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Bulldogs scored one in the bottom of the second and three in the third.
Corsaut has four freshmen in his starting lineup. Three of them tallied at least one hit and all four scored at least one run. Freshman leadoff hitter Ava Montesdeoca led the team going 4-4 with three doubles, four runs scored, four stolen bases and four RBIs.
“It’s really exciting to be batting leadoff,” said Montesdeoca. “It’s interesting and I’m looking forward to leading off all season if I’m able to.”
WAC play continues Friday with a 4 p.m. home game against Beyer and Wednesday, March, 23, against Johansen.
Escalon 7, Oakdale 6: The Cougars took down the previously undefeated Mustangs in eight innings Wednesday. After falling behind 3-1 at the end of the fifth, they scored six runs in three innings including the walk-off run in the bottom of the eighth to secure the win.
Tulsa Carmes finished with two hits and two RBIs for Escalon. Oakdale’s Kylie Valente had a key two-RBI triple. In the circle, Escalon’s Brooke Davis struck out seven and Delainey Everett struck out 14 for Oakdale.
Los Banos 3, Beyer 2: The Patriots were unable to put two runs on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure their first league win this season. They are still in search of their third win of the season after either tying or losing their last five games.
Pacheco 6, Johansen 5: The Vikings couldn’t come all the way back to win after falling behind 5-2 after three innings. They scored three runs in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 5-5, but Pacheco would score one run in the bottom half of the inning to put the game out of reach.
Waterford 14, Delhi 7: The Wildcats won their first game of the season in their league home opener Wednesday. They will play their next two Southern Athletic League games on the road against Mariposa County on Friday and Ripon Christian on March 23.
Manteca 15, Ripon 5: The Buffaloes needed just five innings to win Wednesday’s nonleague game against the Indians. Manteca’s Elon James had three hits with a double and a home run and finished with five RBIs.
Orestimba 19, Ripon Christian 0: The Warriors scored nine runs in the third inning to open the game up against the Knights. Reagan Marroquin finished with three hits and a team-high four RBIs. Junior Jacquelyn Lujan struck out nine.
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 10:36 AM.
