Stanislaus District softball rankings for April 19

Note: All statistics and records as of Monday

Large schools

Comprised of teams from the Modesto Metro Conference, Central California Conference, Valley Oak League and Western Athletic Conference.

1. (1) East Union (15-0, 7-0 VOL): Cal State Northridge-bound catcher Alejandra Rascon solidified the Lancers’ place atop the large-school rankings with a walk-off home run to beat No. 2 Oakdale. Ranked No. 10 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, East Union traveled to No. 5 Sierra on Tuesday.

2. (2) Oakdale (12-1, 6-1 VOL): The Mustangs came within two outs of beating their VOL rival on the road and becoming the No. 1 large-school team in the area. Oakdale, which homered three times in the loss to East Union, rebounded with a victory at Kimball and will face Manteca on Thursday.

3. (3) Ceres (13-3, 6-0 WAC): The Bulldogs should stretch their winning streak to 13 with games against Patterson and Livingston this week. Ceres is hitting .405 and takes its cues from Washington-bound shortstop Nicole Bates, who leads the WAC in runs (24).

4. (4) Merced (13-4, 8-0 CCC): In two games last week, UCLA-bound star Madilyn Nickles was 7 for 9 with two homers and eight RBIs, including a grand slam in a 21-0 rout of Buhach Colony. The Bears have won five in a row and sport a three-game cushion in the CCC.

5. (5) Sierra (10-2, 7-2 VOL): The Timberwolves’ only losses are to teams ranked ahead of them in the Stanislaus District poll: No. 1 East Union, by a score of 2-0; and No. 2 Oakdale, which hammered the ball in a 7-1 victory. Lindsey Walljasper has struck out 110 in 62 1/3 innings.

Others to watch: Gregori (8-6, 5-0 MMC); Manteca (12-6, 6-3 VOL); Los Banos (15-2, 5-1 WAC); El Capitan (11-4-2, 4-2 WAC).

Small schools

Comprised of teams from the Trans-Valley League, Mother Lode League, Southern League and Central California Athletic Alliance.

1. (1) Ripon (10-3, 2-0 TVL): The Indians established themselves as the team to beat in the TVL with a victory over then-No. 3 Escalon. Shay Furtado was the hero, smashing the go-ahead, three-run homer in the top of the seventh. Ripon hosts No. 5 Hughson on Friday.

2. (2) Mariposa (13-2-1, 6-0 SL): The Grizzlies have won seven straight, including four by the 10-run mercy rule. Speaking of streaks: Pitchers Leah Lafata and Violet Matlock haven’t allowed a run in 17 innings.

3. (4) Calaveras (12-3, 9-1 MLL): The Redskins feature just one senior, and their youth is diffusing the pressure of an MLL title hunt. Calaveras, which entered the week tied for first with Linden, walloped third-place Summerville last week, erupting for 20 runs and16 hits.

4. (3) Escalon (14-5, 2-1 TVL): Coach Art Brooks left the Cougars’ loss to top-ranked Ripon encouraged by their fight. Escalon had nine hits against Sacramento State-bound pitcher Danielle Sperry and put two runners on in the seventh.

5. (5) Hughson (9-4, 2-1 TVL): The Huskies, the five-time defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division V champions, have just three seniors but don’t lack for a veteran presence. Those three – Hannah Alcorn (.583), Lauryn Avila (.432) and Alex Archer (.308) – have combined for 59 hits, 42 RBIs and 37 runs.

Others to watch: Waterford (11-6-1, 6-1 SL).

James Burns

This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 2:12 PM with the headline "Stanislaus District softball rankings for April 19."