Classes weren’t in session last week – observed as the Spring Break for Escalon High School – but there were plenty of baseball and softball games played. Both programs attended tournaments during the break, and get back into the Trans-Valley League schedule this week.
Also resuming play will be Cougar tennis and golf, as well as the track and field team.
SOFTBALL
The NorCal Classic in Tracy was the destination for Escalon’s varsity softball girls. They played four games during the tournament but were not able to get a victory.
“We had a tough week at the tournament,” admitted head coach Caitlin Brooks. “A bunch of our girls were gone due to spring break as well as illnesses.”
Going 0-for-4, Brooks said they played with only eight players for the majority of the contests.
The varsity girls took losses to Tracy, falling 17-7; lost 14-4 to Elk Grove, battled Ceres but lost a close 9-7 decision, then were shut out in the final game by Cordova, 10-0.
Jumping back into league, trying to play catch up, the squad was scheduled to host Hilmar in a make-up game on Monday, April 17. They are to host Ripon on Wednesday, April 19 and then travel to Livingston for their third TVL contest of the week on Friday, April 21.
BASEBALL
Looking forward to traveling to nearby Modesto for their Modesto Tournament action, the week didn’t play out as head coach Gino Franceschetti had hoped for his varsity baseball boys.
“We had a rough tournament,” the coach said. “We lost to Ceres on Monday; we had a 5-3 lead going into the fifth and we just made too many errors and gave up some unearned runs. Tuesday, we lost to Beyer, 7-5, same situation there. We just committed a lot of errors and were never able to recover from those mistakes. We struggled to put the ball in play.”
Wednesday, the squad was able to get in the win column, as they beat Modesto High.
“We got a good pitching performance from Zack Valencia, Ryan Murphy and Josh Fiori,” said Franceschetti. “We were able to score some runs off walks from them.”
On Thursday, the team was scheduled to play Modesto Christian but the Crusaders were a no show so Escalon won that game by forfeit.
“Overall, we just want to learn from the mistakes we made over the past week,” Franceschetti explained.
The Cougars have a home game against Hilmar set for Thursday, April 20. They were scheduled to play on the road at Hilmar on Tuesday, April 18.
“We have a lot riding on these two games,” said the coach, noting it could be a ‘make or break’ week for the Cougars as they work to get into position to qualify for the playoffs.
The JV team earned a Tuesday, April 11 win over Golden Valley by a 4-2 final in their tournament play. The Wednesday, April 12 game was a much different outcome, as the JV boys were shut out by El Capitan, 10-0. They did not get a hit in the contest. They also battled Atwater on Wednesday, losing a close 3-2 contest. Escalon had more hits than Atwater, with six hits on the day to Atwater’s three, but the JV Cougars also committed four errors while Atwater played flawlessly in the field.
Ian Burk drove in runs in two of the three games for the JV squad.
“We played three hard fought games over break and these young men continue to build and learn how to win baseball games,” noted head coach Carlos Herrera. “I am very proud of them and they and I both know we have work still left to do but they keep working and growing as ball players.”
TENNIS
The Cougar tennis team was scheduled to be at Ripon for a match on Tuesday, April 18. They travel to Hughson on Wednesday, April 19 and that match is crucial for the league standings; a win there against the Huskies would mean the Cougars win the TVL title. Friday and Saturday, the team goes to Riverbank for the TVL tournament, which will be for league honors and placings for those individuals and doubles heading on to Section play.
TRACK/FIELD
The Cougars are scheduled to take on Livingston in Trans-Valley League action this week. The squads will meet in Riverbank – as neither currently has access to a track facility – and score their TVL contest while Riverbank takes on Hughson at the same time. Field events will start at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19, with running events getting underway at 4 p.m. on the all-weather track at Angelo Novi Field.
Competition early in April saw several track and field team members at the Pacific Grove Invitational.
Here are results from that event, featuring the Escalon medal winners; those placing in the top five. Information on the invitational was provided by head coach Carrie Nash.
Varsity Boys
4x100m relay 3rd (Anderson, Graham, Reider, Nash) 46.22
4x400m relay 3rd (Anderson, Reider, Nash, Morales) 3;43.94
High Jump 1st Owen Nash 6'2"
Long Jump 2nd Logan Anderson 20'1.5"
Frosh/Soph Boys
800m 4th Nathaniel Millard 2:15.70
1600m 5th Nathaniel Millard 5:02.94
110mHH 2nd Trenton Epps
4x400m relay 3rd (Bellinger, Millard, Fernandez, Cortez)
Shot Put 5th Nick Fernandez 35'
Varsity Girls
100m 4th Cali Granis 13.32; 5th Alyssa Ball 13.52
200m 4th Cali Granis 27.73
100m HH 5th Kaitlyn Rodriguez 19.69
300LH 4th Kaitlyn Rodriguez 55.85
4x400m relay 4th (Fahey, Fuentes, Rodriguez, Velazquez)
Shot Put 4th Chloe Farley 28'04"
Discus 2nd Chloe Farley 81'09"; 3rd Jessica Freitas 75'
High Jump 4th Sammy Lang 4'6"
Frosh/Soph Girls
100m 1st Megan Silva 13.14
4th Jasmine Barron 13.89
200m 1st Megan Silva 27.74
100m HH 4th Kaitlyn Kjlellberg 59.55
4x100m relay 1st (Barron, Craddock, Brasil, Silva)
4x400m relay 4th (Kjellberg, Fahey, Gonzalez, Rodriguez)
Shot Put 1st Cortney Ball 26'04"; 2nd Gloria Segura 26'01.5"; 3rd Gracie Airola 25'10.5"
Discus 1st Gloria Segura 71'11"; 3rd Cortney Ball 65'07"
High Jump 5th Lillian Brasil 4'; 5th Alondra Gonzalez 4"
Long Jump 2nd Jasmine Barron 13'08"; 3rd Lillian Brasil 13'02
GOLF
Matches for the boys were scheduled against Ripon Christian on the road on Tuesday, April 18 and then they will travel to play at Rancho Del Rey in Atwater against Livingston on Thursday, April 20.
