Hitting experience shows, Garcia throws shutout as Central Catholic softball tops Oakdale
In the big moments of a rivalry matchup, teams need their best players to be at the top of their game. For the Central Catholic softball team in Tuesday’s Valley Oak League game against rival Oakdale, Taryn Calderon, Samantha Nichols, Jazmarie Roberts and Madison Harrison came to play.
Calderon, Nichols, Roberts and Harrison, the first four hitters in the Raiders’ batting order, respectively, were responsible for six of the Raiders’ nine runs in the shutout victory. Harrison and Roberts finished with two RBI apiece while Nichols and Calderon had one RBI each. Calderon scored three runs and Nichols, Roberts and Harrison each scored one.
“We come out every game knowing we have to set the tone of the game,” Calderon said. “Every game, we come out looking to get on base every single time.”
The quartet also produced five of the team’s seven hits and combined for all three of the team’s doubles. Calderon and Nichols each stole two bases, and in 14 total at bats between the four, they struck out only twice.
“They’re really talented and they have high expectations of themselves,” Raiders coach Sam Nichols said. “They’re very competitive, so I don’t even have to say a word to them, it’s just an expectation they have for themselves.”
The four led the Raiders to their third straight win and 10th win overall. The Raiders are the No. 8 team in the Sac-Joaquin Section, according to MaxPreps.
Stephanie Garcia is just a sophomore, but she is in her second varsity season. Nichols said she already has grown a lot since her freshman season.
“Her maturity from a year ago is night and day,” Nichols said, praising his second-year starter. “She was kind of thrown into the fire last year and with the schedule we played, at times she struggled but she also had good innings for us. This year, she’s ready to go. She wants the ball and she’s learning how to pitch and compete.”
Garcia threw her second shutout of the season in the rivalry game Tuesday, striking out three batters and allowing just one hit. It is her fifth win this season. She drew praise from Calderon and Nichols for her pitching accuracy, hitting her spots and letting her teammates pick her up in the field. Nichols said that despite battling a couple of nagging injuries, Garcia wanted the ball against the Mustangs. And she delivered.
“I don’t like to think about (the shutout),” Garcia said. “I just go inning by inning.”
The Raiders coaching staff has emphasized finishing games strong, playing the same in the seventh inning as in the first. The Raiders scored one run in the first and third innings each and put up six in the fifth inning to put the game out of reach. They added one final run in the bottom of the sixth.
“It’s been a goal to keep putting pressure (on the other team) no matter what the score is,” Calderon said. “I feel like that’s helped our team a lot to keep the energy up the entire time.”
The Raiders remain undefeated in the VOL early in the league schedule.
“This league is tough, so I’m not taking any game for granted,” Nichols said. “At any moment, we don’t play well and we can lose. It’s one game at a time. … But if we can play like we did today, throw strikes, catch the ball and get timely hitting, that’s what we’re looking for.
They take on East Union and Manteca before a nonleague contest against Pioneer on March 26. Oakdale looks to bounce back from its first league loss against Mountain House and East Union in VOL play.
Softball Scores
Hughson 2, Orestimba 0: Hughson earned its first Trans-Valley League win of the season Tuesday, beating new league foe Orestimba in seven innings. Senior Allison Moring had both RBI, driving in runs in the first and sixth innings to secure the victory. Freshman Emma Carne pitched seven shutout innings with five strikeouts giving up just three hits.
Gregori 19, Downey 0: The Jaguars won their fifth game in six outings this month, advancing to 9-2 overall and 4-2 in CCAL play with Tuesday’s five-inning win. Sophomore Kaliyah Mauia went 4-for-4 with a fourth-inning two-run home run and had six RBI, and sophomore Olivia McNelis drove in five runs. Senior Allyson Conway and sophomore Arabella Port combined for the shutout.
Turlock 8, Pitman 4: One run in the fourth and three in the fifth broke a 3-3 tie in favor of the Bulldogs in the first crosstown rivalry game of the season. Cadee Campbell, Jaysee Rubio, Abby Maxwell and Chloe Chapman each drove in a run for Turlock. Campbell had a game-high three hits and Karley Wool added two. Campbell also pitched, striking out a team-high four batters.
Mountain House 6, Patterson 0: Jazmine Isom and Reese Valentine led the Tigers with two hits apiece but Patterson could not drive in a run against Mountain House senior pitcher Luna Lopez, who struck out nine. Patterson fell to 1-2 in its first season in the VOL.
Enochs 14, Modesto 0: Makayla Alailima drove in six runs, Joella Amezcua added a pair of RBI, and five others drove in one run each as Enochs stayed undefeated in CCAL play so far this season. Sophomore pitcher Kaylee Ruiz threw a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts and walked just one batter.
Baseball Scores
Livingston 6, Davis 2: A pair of seventh-inning runs was all the Spartans could get across in their third WAC game. Sophomore Kendry Gonzalez drove in both runs for Davis and was one of four total players to record one hit. Davis fell to 6-5 on the season.
Linden 11, Big Valley Christian 1: The Lions could get only two hits Tuesday in the MLL game against Linden. Cohen Paddock scored Big Valley’s only run, coming home on an error.
Pacheco 4, Johansen 1: Johansen fell in the first game of the two-game WAC series against Pacheco, scoring just one in the bottom of the seventh inning. Felix Davalos scored on a Matt White single.
Ceres 12, Lathrop 0: Four runs in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively, helped the Bulldogs pull away from WAC opponent Lathrop in the first game of a two-game set. Vincent Castrejon, Carson Ulrich, Aiden Maines, Junior Sombrerero and Mario Vargas each drove in multiple runs and Castrejon pitched six shutout innings with six strikeouts.
Central Valley 3, Beyer 1: The Hawks advanced to 7-4 with Tuesday’s WAC win. With the game tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, Mason Whitworth put Central Valley ahead with an RBI single. Later in the inning, Whitworth scored after a fly out. Pitcher Chris Garcia set a new program record with 16 strikeouts.
Summerville 11, Riverbank 0: Riverbank fell in five innings to MLL opponent Summerville. Freshman Anthony Rios recorded the Bruins’ only hit of the afternoon.
