Escalon’s varsity softball girls had a tough couple of games in Trans-Valley League action this past week.
They were on the road April 15 and lost to Ripon, then fell on the home field to Orestimba on April 17.
In the game with Ripon, Escalon scored one run in the first to take a short-lived lead, but Ripon answered back with two in the bottom of the frame and never trailed after that. Ripon added two runs in the third and three in the fourth, Escalon trimmed the lead to 7-3 with two runs in the top of the fifth and added one more in the seventh but fell short, 7-4.
Jayci Trimble went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs batted in; Madison Babasa was 2-for-4 with two triples, two runs scored and a stolen base. Ari Velasco had a double, two runs scored and two RBI, going 3-for-4 on the afternoon with two stolen bases.
Escalon had eight hits in the game, Ripon had nine and each team committed two errors.
Looking for a stronger outing on Thursday, the varsity squad took on Orestimba.
The visiting Lady Warriors scored two runs in the top of the first, Escalon answered back with three in their half of the frame.
But Orestimba tacked on five runs in the second, leading 7-3. In the bottom of the third, Escalon rallied and regained the lead with a five-run outburst of their own. Orestimba, though, kept putting the offensive pressure on and scored a run in the fourth, two in the fifth, one in the sixth and three more in the seventh while holding Escalon off the scoreboard the rest of the way, taking a14-8 victory. Orestimba rapped out 18 hits on the day to Escalon’s nine; the Lady Cougars also were charged with four errors while Orestimba committed just one.
Offensive leaders for Escalon were Trimble with a double, triple, two RBI and two runs scored; Jessy Kesler with a double and two RBI; Chloe Green with two runs batted in and a run scored. Babasa and Velasco each had two stolen bases.
The varsity girls aren’t scheduled to play again until they go on the road to Sonora on Tuesday, April 29 and close out the season at home hosting Hilmar on Thursday, May 1.
JV SOFTBALL
The JV girls fell by a lopsided 26-5 decision to Ripon and also lost by a 14-2 final to Orestimba.
Head coach Lexy Underwood said the JV girls got on the board first against Ripon in the April 15 game. Gaby De La O and Mylah Lehman each scored a run but Ripon flipped the score by putting up14 runs in the bottom of the first.
“Saphira Melo started on the mound. Brooklyn Dugo, Holley Oliver, Lehman and Isabelle Riley each collected one hit,” said Underwood. “As a team they worked the count and tallied a total of five walks. The Cougars turned two double plays in the game as well.”
Thursday at home against Orestimba, Mia Bracamontes got the start on the mound, allowing six runs, five hits, walking four and striking out one.
“Gaby De La O and Riley Miranda each drove in a run,” Underwood said. “Holley Oliver went 2-for-2 leading the Cougars in hits as well as stealing three bases.”
The coach said she is looking forward to the team’s next game.
“Hoping to come out and play hard against Sonora on April 29. We have beaten them once and it was a tough game, so we need to come out fighting from the start,” said Underwood.
BASEBALL
With just one game on the books this week, it was a win for Escalon’s varsity baseball boys, as they went to Mistlin Sports Park and defeated host Ripon, 8-1.
“We played well,” head coach Gino Franceschetti said. “Brody Abbot started on the mound and went five innings, striking out eight. Ian Burk came in and finished off the last two innings.”
Offensively, the Cougars rapped out 10 hits on the day, with two hits each from Logan Huebner, Dylan Ball, Burk and Josh Fiori. Abbot had three RBI, as did Burk.
“It was nice getting that win on the road especially against a team like Ripon,” Franceschetti said.
Game two with Ripon, originally scheduled on April 18 but then rescheduled to April 17, had to be postponed until April 28 due to a mix up with umpires and the date, said Franceschetti.
The JV boys, meanwhile, had just the one game with Ripon as well and took a tough 6-5 loss on the road.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Crafting a 3-1 win against Hilmar to start the week, the varsity Cougar volleyball boys then fell by a 3-0 final to Big Valley.
“Against Hilmar (Monday, April 14) we were only a team of six, it took a set to get used to most boys playing new positions but thankfully we won in four sets,” said head coach Shay Beam.
Scores were 17-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-21.
“Both Mikie Lourenco and Preston Berhorst had great games attacking,” Beam added. “Preston had 16 kills and Mikie had 14. Danny Gonzalez had three blocks and eight kills, chipping in for our match win.”
There were plenty of contributions to the team victory, noted the coach.
“Behind every kill is an assist and Ben Ferreira did a great job mixing it up on Monday, having 36 assists. In the back row it’s cool to see with six guys everyone dug balls in the double digits.”
Wednesday against Big Valley, another road game, there were seven players available but the Cougars were still missing one of their outsides. They lost in three, 17-25, 19-25, 18-25.
“The boys played well but Big Valley has some very good players and we couldn’t stop them offensively,” Beam said.
The squad is scheduled to host its last home game against Ripon Christian on Wednesday, April 23 and hope to make the postseason.
The JV boys had a tough week, losing both of their contests, said head coach Alyssa Cogburn.
They fell to Hilmar 19-25, 26-24, 5-15. They got swept by Big Valley, 24-26, 19-25.
“Jerenai Maglalang led the week with four aces,” said Cogburn. “Jake Ferreira had nine kills. Sam Delgado had five blocks and Ryder Killingsworth had 18 digs.”
BOYS GOLF
With just three golfers available for recent action, a tournament at Turlock Country Club, the Cougars did not have a team score but saw a low round of 93 by senior Dominic Arauza, a 97 from junior Brenden Berchtold and a 107 from junior Donovan Martinez. Head coach Brandon Hoover said the team was without several players due to injury and an FFA trip.
“Dom and Brenden are now about even in the league standings,” Hoover said. “They are both in position to qualify for divisionals.”
TRACK AND FIELD
Hosting a meet on Wednesday, April 16, both Ripon and Ripon Christian were in town for the track and field competition.
“Although the Escalon Cougars easily defeated Ripon Christian’s boys and girls teams, unfortunately it was the opposite result with Ripon,” explained head coach Arend Jones. “But with that said, there were some excellent finishes from Cougar athletes.”
Senior Megan Silva had an outstanding day, placing first in both the 100- and 200-meter sprints and setting a new personal record in the 100, securing her second individual school record.
Senior Calan Crumbley got a personal record in the 200-meter sprint, moving into third place in the school record books.
Also senior Trenton Epps got a PR in the 300-meter hurdles while sophomore Victoria Calderon placed second and third in her distance events, the 800- and 3200-meter races.
Freshman Ava Rodriguez PR’d in the 100-meter hurdles and moved into eighth place in the school records.
“Sophomore Jaecy Aldasoro, juniors Gloria Segura and Marissa Terry, along with seniors Cortney Ball, Nathan Belletto and John Vargas performed well in shot put and discus.”
This week, the Cougars are scheduled to travel to Bret Harte on Saturday, April 26 for the last invitational of the season.
“April 30 will be the last dual meet at home, competing against Orestimba and celebrating our seniors with Senior Night,” said Jones.
TENNIS
All-Trans-Valley League selections were announced this past week and Escalon saw nine of its 14 varsity players selected for the honor, the most of any team in the league.
Selected were Nathan Rose, boys number one singles, also named TVL MVP; Landon Underwood, boys number two singles; Daniel Adams and Luca Cerasi, boys number one doubles; Maddox Neilsen and Cooper Fugett, boys number two doubles; Kali Castellanos, girls number one singles; Emma Rangel and Marina Franzia, girls number one doubles.
“We also played Tuesday and Thursday to qualify for doubles sections,” said head coach Julianne Eavenson. “We had team qualify in each bracket, girls doubles, boys doubles and mixed doubles.”
The coach said she was also pleased to see the MVP selection for Rose.
“Very well deserved for him; he went 11-1 this season, dominated every opponent he had in the TVL and earned his MVP title early on in the season and had a great rest of the season,” the coach said.
