A make-up game early in the week went in the win column for Escalon’s varsity softball team while a road game in Riverbank saw them lose in extra innings.
First year head coach Caitlin Brooks said the Monday, April 3 game was against Livingston, one that had been postponed earlier in the season due to rain.
“We won 20-12,” Brooks said of the road game.
At Riverbank on Thursday, April 6 it was a back-and-forth battle and ultimately, the home team prevailed as the Lady Bruins fashioned a 9-8 victory in nine innings.
Riverbank took a 1-0 lead in the first, Escalon tied it in the second. Then the visitors went up 3-1 in the third, Riverbank scratched one back to trail 3-2 after three.
With a four-run uprising in the fourth, Escalon widened its lead, 7-2, but the resilient Lady Bruins scored three in the bottom of the fourth to make it 7-5. Two runs in the bottom of the sixth knotted the score at 7-7; each team scored a run in the seventh. In the extra frames, Escalon was held off the scoreboard and Riverbank cashed in a run for the walk off win in the bottom of the ninth.
“Madison Babasa went 2-for-4, Emily Vickers went 2-for-4 with three RBI,” Brooks noted. “Alyssa Herrera went 1-for-5 with a home run and two RBI. The girls fought until the end but Riverbank played well and came out on top.”
The Lady Cougars will participate in a tournament in Tracy during the Spring Break week and the play against Ripon in TVL action on Wednesday, April 19.
Baseball
Two games against Hughson in Trans-Valley League play were both losses for the varsity baseball team. In fact, they managed just one run over the two contests. They were at home for a Tuesday, April 4 game and lost that one by an 8-1 final. Thursday, April 6, they were on the road and took a hard fought 2-0 loss to the Huskies.
“Parker Saunders pitched well Tuesday,” said head coach Gino Franceschetti. “He went the full seven innings and we just couldn’t get him run support. Josh Fiori went 3-for-4 and drove in the only run over the week.”
The varsity is playing in the Dick Windemuth Tournament over spring break.
The JV boys, meanwhile, also went 0-for-2 for the week. They took a 4-2 loss to visiting Hughson on April 4 and then were roughed up on the road, falling in Hughson on April 6 by an 11-1 final.
“Tough one Tuesday,” head coach Carlos Herrera said. “We made some mistakes today that cost us a game, but I am proud of how these young men competed and how they continue to buy in and learn,” he said.
The coach also pointed to an outstanding effort on the mound from Ian Burk, even though the team couldn’t get him much offensive support.
The going didn’t get any easier Thursday, as the hitters were once again handcuffed and couldn’t get much going offensively.
Taking part this week in the Central Catholic Tournament, the JV boys will get in four games over three days.
Tennis
Sweeping past Millennium of Tracy by a 9-0 final on Wednesday, April 5, the Cougar tennis team got a forfeit win on Thursday against the same team, as they didn’t have enough players to fill out the roster. So that made two wins for the Escalon squad against the same opponent and they got three on the week, defeating Riverbank earlier.
In the 9-0 sweep, Josh Schut and Nikolai Lorenzo got forfeit wins in boys number one and two singles, respectively Also winning by forfeit was boys number two doubles, Landon Underwood and Co Northcutt. Nathan Rose and Paloma Lara took a forfeit win in mixed doubles.
Matches played saw Isabella Nalbandian win 6-1, 6-0 in girls number one singles, Rylie Lattig was a 6-1, 6-1 winner at girls number two singles.
Doubles action saw Sawyer Mello and Jack Anderson win 6-0, 6-1 at number one; girls number one doubles Makayla Wentzell and Faye Hernandez won 6-0, 6-0; as did number two girls doubles Kali Castellanos and Brittany Dugo.
On Tuesday, April 4, the Cougars got a crucial win against Riverbank in head-to-head TVL play, winning 7-2. Daniel Adams at number two boys singles got the win, as did girls singles Nalbandian and Lattig. Schut took a tough loss at boys number one singles.
In doubles play, winners were Mello and Anderson, Underwood and Northcutt in boys; Wentzell and Hernandez, Castellanos and Dugo in girls. Rose and Lara took a loss at mixed doubles.
Golf
The young Cougar golf boys played in two tournaments this past week.
They were at Oakdale Golf and Country Club on Tuesday, April 4 and at La Contenta in Valley Springs on Thursday, April 6.
“TJ McNeil shot an 82 at Oakdale which was good for third place out of 36 golfers,” said head coach Brandon Hoover. “Matix Trimble shot a 115 which was his best round to date.”
The conditions on Thursday were very tough at La Contenta, said Hoover.
“They haven’t been able to mow because of the weather so the course was playing difficult,” he explained. “TJ shot an 88 for fourth place.”
Other golfers struggled against the tough conditions and the team is off this week because of spring break, ready to get back into action next week.
