Playoffs: Hughson baseball falls in D-V final; CC softball plays fourth straight title game
The careers of three of the winningest Stanislaus District baseball players in recent memory came to an end Wednesday in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V title game.
Carlos Guizar, JC Lupercio, Max Mankins and the second-seed Hughson Huskies took on No. 1 Lincoln with a blue banner on the line. The Huskies entered the contest searching for the first baseball section title in school history, led by three players who each started over 100 games in their varsity careers.
The Huskies took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning after Mankins and Isaac Lupercio singled and scored on an Andrew Fisher double. The Fighting Zebras answered right away, posting five runs in the bottom of the inning, powered by a three-run home run, to take a three-run lead.
Hughson answered in the top of the fourth, loading the bases and scoring on a Benji Ocegueda walk and a Mankins groundout in back-to-back at-bats. With two outs, Ocegueda scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. The contest remained tied until the bottom of the sixth, when Dylan Knell hit a solo home run to break the tie and ultimately win the game for Lincoln.
Hughson coach Charly Garza said the trio helped put Hughson baseball on the map. They were each four-year varsity players who reached the section title game their freshman season and got to the semifinals the past two years, falling to Sutter in both seasons.
“When I first brought them up, I told them their talent is what got them here but their work ethic was going to keep them here,” Garza said. “Those kids from day one were leaders in their work ethic and their attitude. … When the game ended, I told them I couldn’t be more proud of them for what they’ve done for this program.”
In their final game, Mankins and Guizar finished with a team-high two hits apiece. The Huskies outhit the Zebras as four other Hughson players tallied one hit each. Hughson also drew six walks. Junior Bryce McDaniel pitched the full six innings, throwing 67 pitches. He allowed five hits and struck out two.
“As far as the game plan goes, their pitcher was gonna get his,” Garza said. “He’s really good. You’re not gonna put up double-digit runs on that guy. But I think we played really, really well minus one mistake. And that mistake was crucial.”
Garza said the atmosphere and everything surrounding the day was “great” despite the loss. The team left for a sendoff parade where parents and fans, including little-league kids holding signs and wearing Hughson hats, lined the streets. At the game, the stands were filled with Hughson fans.
“What hurt the kids the most was … I heard the boys say, ‘Come on, we gotta win it for these kids,’ and a lot of those kids were at the game. I think they felt appreciation for the community. The people came out to support these kids and they feel that and wanted to win one.”
Hughson finishes the season as Trans-Valley League champs with an 11-1 league record and 27-7 overall record.
Raiders denied title in fourth straight section championship
The Central Catholic softball team was hoping to bring home a section title in their fourth straight trip to the championship game.
A win would have given the Raiders their second title in program history. They won their first in Division IV in 1995.
The past three attempts at a blue banner all came up short as they lost in D-III in 2022 and 2023 and in D-IV last season.
Their opponent Saturday was a Vanden team with a potent offense that featured five players who hit over .400 and five with at least one home run.
Raiders head coach Sam Nichols said the Raiders knew if they were going to be successful, they had to limit sophomore infielder Niayli Calvo’s chances. The sophomore, one of the best in her class nationally, entered Saturday’s matchup batting over .700 with 43 hits, 18 doubles and four home runs. While they kept her from adding to her doubles total, the Raiders could not keep her out of the home run column as Calvo smashed a solo home run in the top of the third and a three-run home run in the top of the fourth to power Vanden to a 12-4 victory. It is Vanden’s third D-III section title and first since 2003.
“Vanden did a great job,” Nichols said. “This one feels a little different because they outplayed us today. In the past, it felt like we beat ourselves a little bit. But (Vanden) came out, swung it, they made plays when they needed to. There’s not really much you can say except great job on their end.”
For the Raiders offensively, they scored once in the bottom of the first when leadoff hitter, UNLV signee Taryn Calderon, was driven in by Arizona State signee Jazmarie Roberts. In the fourth inning, they strung together three runs. Samantha Nichols drove in Calderon and Roberts doubled, driving in Nichols. Later in the inning, Roberts scored on a Ceriah Fitzhugh groundout.
Each pitcher saw time for Central Catholic on Saturday. Stephanie Garcia, who did not allow a run this postseason entering the game, started. Braelyn Avila came on in relief, then Amaya Gustavis subbed in. Garcia re-entered, finishing the game.
“My heart goes out for the girls,” Nichols said. “They work hard all year long and they did a great job competing. So I feel for them. … I feel bad for our seniors. They’ve been here four years and we couldn’t bring it home for them.”
The Raiders’ season is not over as they will have a week of practice before competing in the NorCal regional playoffs. Brackets will be released on the CIF state website on June 1 and first-round games are June 3.
Their two seniors, Roberts and Calderon, have experience in bouncing back from a loss in the section finals. In 2023, they fell to Ponderosa in the D-III title game then beat the Bruins weeks later to win the NorCal title.
“We’ll regroup, take the weekend off get back to work on Tuesday and get ready to play again,” Nichols said.
Ripon Christian boys volleyball earns title
The No. 3 Knights took home the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III boys volleyball title Saturday, May 10, taking down the division’s four-seed Christian Brothers in a 25-14, 25-16, 25-18 sweep. The blue banner is the program’s third, but that isn’t the only reason why it’s special. With the win, the Knights took down the defending D-III champs.
It was Ripon Christian’s 12th 3-0 sweep on the season and marked their 27th overall win.
The undefeated Trans-Valley League champions Knights had two players with double-digit kills, highlighted by the team’s top two kills leaders Mason Tameling, who tallied 12, and Isaiah Vander Woude, who finished with 10. Setter Daniel Lambdin tallied 31 assists.
After finishing 12-0 in TVL play, the Knights swept Burbank and beat Beyer, 3-1 at home. On the road, they won a five-set thriller against No. 2 River Valley to advance to the title match.
The Knights also advanced to the state tournament where they earned the No. 5 seed in the eight-team D-III bracket. They lost on the road to Branham of San Jose in three competitive sets, 25-22, 25-22, 25-19.
Ripon Christian finishes the season 27-10 overall and next season returns Tameling, whose 453 kills and 87 aces rank 24th and 17th nationally, Lambdin, whose 906 assists is 17th-best in California and three other hitters who each had over 100 kills.
Denair softball plays in first-ever section title game
It was a Saturday of firsts on May 17 at Modesto JC as Denair and Foresthill played for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII softball title. The Coyotes were playing in their first section title game, after earning the No. 2 seed in the bracket and beating Elliot Christian 20-10 in the quarterfinals and Vacaville Christian 13-3 in the semifinals. Both teams were chasing their first blue banner, but Foresthill had been there before. The Wildfires made the 2019 title game, but lost to Stone Ridge Christian.
Denair held a 6-2 lead after four innings and stayed in front until the fifth inning. Denair didn’t score in the top of the inning and Foresthill scored five runs in the bottom half to take a 7-6 lead, an advantage they would hold until the final out.
Kenzie Prine, Braelyn Marroquin, Aaliyah Rodriguez and McKinley Binkley each tallied one hit and Prine, Marroquin, Rodriguez and Daisy Rosas each drove in a run. Marroquin doubled and Prine tripled for the Coyotes’ only extra-base hits. Denair finishes the season with a 13-10 record.
Turlock Christian baseball plays for third title in four seasons
The Turlock Christian baseball team qualified for its third Sac-Joaquin Section title game in four seasons after beating No. 8 Big Valley Christian in the quarterfinals and sweeping No. 5 Rio Vista in the semis as the top seed in Division VII. In the title game, they took on No. 2 Vacaville Christian, which entered the May 20 matchup with four straight wins, including a semifinals sweep of Valley Christian.
In the title game Tuesday, Michael Miller tripled and scored both of the Eagles’ runs. Cam Kelley and Winston York tallied one RBI apiece and Jake Dein had a team-high two hits.
Turlock Christian trailed by just one run, 2-1, after three innings, but a 10-run top of the fourth broke the game open in Vacaville Christian’s favor. Both teams scored in the fifth, but Turlock Christian could not extend the game to avoid the mercy rule. Vacaville Christian took the blue banner with a 13-2 win.
The Eagles finish the season with a 16-6 overall record and 7-3 record against Central California Athletic Alliance opponents.
Pitman boys volleyball enjoys perfect CCAL season
The Pitman boys volleyball team posted its best record in school history this season, winning all 10 Central California Athletic League games it played under coaches Cat Silveira and Payton Rowell. During league play, the Pride dropped just four total sets, losing one to Turlock, two to Downey and one to Enochs. They received the highest seed of the two CCAL teams to play a first-round postseason match, coming in at No. 11 in the D-I bracket. Downey, the league’s second-place team, was the No. 13 team in the division and Enochs, which finished third in the CCAL, played in a play-in game.
This story was originally published May 25, 2025 at 9:49 AM.
