Not all the scheduled games this past week got played, as rainy weather in the latter part of the week washed out some contests for Escalon High School athletes.
There were some early games played, along with volleyball inside, so teams did see limited action. Following is a recap of the contests.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Splitting their Trans-Valley League games for the week, the Escalon varsity volleyball boys fell to Ripon but then defeated Orestimba.
The Ripon match was on Monday, March 10 and the Indians took a 3-1 win; 25-18, 25-27, 25-18, 25-19.
“Ripon is a good team, I am happy we took a set off of them,” head coach Shay Beam said of the league opener against the Indians. “When we see them again in a few weeks hopefully we can do more than that. The boys played decent, starting the set strong but couldn’t hold on to win it.”
Preston Berhorst had a great night on offense for the Cougars with 13 kills and four blocks. Mikie Lourenco had eight kills and Carson Medina added seven. Setter Ben Ferreira notched 25 assists on the night and had four aces.
Regrouping and coming back strong just a couple of days later, the host Cougars put away the Orestimba Warriors in four, 25-17, 16-25, 25-19, 25-12.
“Last year we lost in four when they weren’t in our league so I am happy to report we won in four this year,” the coach noted. “It’s just a testament that this team is improving and becoming a good volleyball team.”
In the Wednesday night contest, it was Medina leading the way in kills with 12, helping to secure the league victory. Lourenco and Berhorst had eight kills apiece.
“Both middles, Danny Gonzalez and Berhorst, had four blocks,” Beam said. “Overall, it was a good night.”
Serving up the final point of the night against Orestimba was Ethan Jacobs, who had a strong showing at the service line.
BASEBALL
The varsity and JV baseball teams got on the field for just one contest, opening the season against Sonora on Wednesday, March 12. The game time was moved up from its scheduled 4 p.m. start to play in the early afternoon, hoping to get it in before the arrival of wet weather.
The varsity team came away with a solid 14-1 victory over the Wildcats, new to the Trans-Valley League this season.
“We played during school hours and it was a really fun atmosphere,” said head coach Gino Franceschetti. “Teachers brought their students out there and the boys enjoyed every second of it. I may start advocating for sports getting one or two games played during school.”
In the game, which went just five innings due to the 10-run rule, Josh Fiori pitched all five, striking out seven and walking none. Offensively, Ian Burk went 3-for-3 and players contributing two hits were Fiori, Andrew Armosino and Lorenzo Teixeira.
The Friday game at Sonora was postponed until later in the season.
Escalon’s JV boys took a 13-1 win over Sonora, rapping out a dozen hits on the day while allowing just two.
“The boys played very well, we took care of the baseball and put the ball in play,” said coach Carlos Herrera. “That is a very good combination.”
Ethan Haskin pitched outstanding for the JV team, going two innings and not allowing a hit. Cole Ratkiewicz pitched a scoreless inning and Kolton Kjellberg also pitched a solid inning, striking out two and giving up one run to the JV Wildcats.
SOFTBALL
Playing back-to-back games Monday and Tuesday, March 10 and 11, the varsity Lady Cougars softball team fell in both.
They played Gregori on Monday and fell by a 15-7 decision.
“Gregori came out the first inning and scored seven runs,” said head coach Caitlin Schulte. “Offensively we weren’t able to recover.”
Madison Babasa went 2-for-2, Lizzy Allan went 3-for-3 and Chloe Green went 2-for-3.
“Our game against Summerville was a heartbreaker,” Schulte said of the Tuesday contest on the road. “We were up the majority of the game and Summerville was able to capitalize on our costly errors towards the end of the game.”
The final was 10-9 in favor of Summerville.
Arianna Velasco went 2-for-4, Babasa was 1-for-4 with a home run and Jayci Trimble went 2-for-3 with a home run. Kaylynn McCutcheon went 3-for-4 while also pitching six innings with five strikeouts and two walks.
“Madison Babasa came in to relieve in the seventh inning and struck two girls out before the walk off hit to center field,” Schulte said.
The team’s scheduled Trans-Valley Legue opener on Thursday, March 13 was rained out.
This week, the girls will face off against two TVL opponents as they host Ripon on Thursday, March 20 and Hughson on Friday, March 21.
The JV girls also fell on the road at Summerville on Tuesday.
“It was a rough game for us. We were unable to shut Summerville down in the first inning while they scored 17 runs,” said coach Lexy Underwood. “We finally woke the bats up in the fifth inning but unfortunately it was too late.”
The final score was 20-8 in favor of Summerville.
Mylah Lehman had a double to drive in three runs while a Victoria Marrufo single also drove in a run.
“Kristina Mendoza was hit by a pitch which brought in a run,” Underwood added. “Payton Graham grounded out resulting in one run scoring and a wild pitch brought in our final two runs of the game.”
The coach said it is a young team, but one that is learning.
“Hoping to get better with each day out on the field,” Underwood said. “Looking forward to the rest of the season.”
TENNIS
Just one match was on the schedule for the tennis team and it was on the road March 13 at Ripon Christian. The Cougars ran into a bit of a buzzsaw there, falling to the Knights by a 6-3 final in TVL play.
Taking losses were the singles players, Nathan Rose at number one boys and Landon Underwood at number two boys; Kali Castellanos at number one girls and Violet Da Silva at number two girls.
Daniel Adams and Luca Cerasi fell at boys number one doubles, with Carolina Sandoval and Brien Novetzke taking a loss at mixed doubles.
Wins on the day for Escalon came in boys number two doubles, Maddox Neilsen and Cooper Fugett earning a 6-4, 7-5 victory; girls number one doubles Marina Franzia and Emma Rangel played to a 6-2, 6-2 win and girls number two doubles Ashlynn Paxman and Haven MacKinnon won their match in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
The team is scheduled to play at Hughson on March 19 and at Ripon on March 21; then host Orestimba on Tuesday, March 25.
TRACK AND FIELD
Escalon’s track and field Cougars went to Manteca for a large invitational meet on Saturday, March 15.
“The Cougars brought mostly freshmen and sophomores to compete in the JV division and there were many PRs and medal finishes. In fact, in the JV girls division, Escalon placed third as a team overall,” said head coach Arend Jones.
Freshman medal winners included: Ava Rodriguez, first in the 400 meters, second in the 300-meter hurdles and third in the 4-by-400 relay; Georgia Northcutt, third in the 400 meters, second, pole vault; third, 4-by-400 relay. Ronnie Keo, third place in the triple jump, long jump, high jump and the 4-by-100 relay. Addison Correia, third in the 4-by-100 and 4-by-400 relays; Kenley Koops, third, 4-by-100 relay; Vivienne Harp, third, 4-by-400 relay; Ian Trejo, second, high jump; second, 110-meter hurdles; third, 300-meter hurdles.
The sophomore medalists during the invitational were Rylan Eproson, third, high jump; Carli Jones, second, triple jump and high jump; Emilia Jimenez, third, 4-by-100 relay; Brooklyn Sparacino, third, 3200 meters.
“One final medalist was a senior, Trenton Epps, who placed third in the varsity 300-meter hurdles,” said Jones.
This week, the Cougars will host the TVL Relays Invitational on March 19, starting at 3 p.m.
“All TVL schools will be in attendance, with over 500 athletes competing,” said Jones, with neighboring Riverbank High School slated to participate as well.
BOYS GOLF
The Cougar boys took part in the second Trans-Valley League tournament of the campaign last week, played at River Oaks in Ceres. Brenden Berchtold placed 12th overall out of 42 golfers in the tournament while Dominic Arauza was in the middle of the pack with a 21st place finish.
Escalon was sixth as a team with a score of 444. Berchtold carded a 73 on the day and Arauza shot an 81 on the course. Ripon took first place as a team with a score of 310, followed by Ripon Christian in second, Hughson, Sonora, Hilmar, Escalon and Orestimba.
Also playing for Escalon were Austin Mustain and Donovan Martinez, each carding a 96; Matix Trimble, 98; and Ethan Tellez, 121.
