When the Manteca Little League major division White Sox fell behind the A's 1-0 in the first inning, the chances of their season ending seemed pretty good.
­ Just like every other athlete in this area that is closing down their season, me and this dude I work for are closing down another campaign.
A season to remember got a little bit better for Ripon Christian head coach John De Visser and senior Clayton Prins.
Manteca High's Matt Barber closed out his senior season as the Valley Oak League's Most Valuable Player.
SACRAMENTO – The level of play it would have taken for the Manteca Buffaloes to compete for their first Sac-Joaquin Section title in school history abandoned them, in a season-ending 5-1 second round loss to El Dorado Wednesday at McAuliffe Memorial Park.
RIPON – The Ripon Indians looked like they were in for a cozy ride to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V soccer final, but a valiant Central Catholic comeback halted any early celebrations.
RIPON - Sure the fresh strawberries, red ripe cherries and locally produced honey were huge hits.
SACRAMENTO – When Matt Barber was through with the River City Raiders they couldn't even tread water.
It was far from Sierra High's prettiest performance of the season, but the Timberwolves' 1-0 first-round Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs win over Cosumnes Oaks High leaves Sierra one win shy of a return trip to the finals.
LODI – As difficult as it was to find parking at the Sac-Joaquin Section Swimming Championships Saturday at Tokay High, an invitation to compete in the meet proved even more challenging with only a select few earning the right to compete in the area's closing meet.
Kourtni McCall found herself down 1-0 just three batters into the game, but the senior hurler found some resiliency she didn't know she had, lifting her East Union Lancers to a 7-1 Valley Oak League win and eliminating the Ceres Bulldogs from the 2010 postseason.
There was more at stake than a Valley Oak League baseball game, and that was the attitude of the Manteca Buffaloes, who scored three runs in the first and two more in the second on their way to a 10-0 win over Weston Ranch High and a berth into the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs Tuesday.
It was more than just a gathering for all of the athletes in the Valley Oak Leagues' nine track and field programs. The VOL championships at Sierra High Saturday were the final opportunity for participants to win a league title and to continue their 2010 season for another few weeks.
Stephanie Vanni found herself directly in front of the goalie just seconds into Sierra's Valley Oak League deciding contest with Weston Ranch. Vanni knew exactly what to do, pounding the Timberwolves' first attempt into the net for an instant 1-0 lead and a smooth path to a 5-0 win and the squads second consecutive league championship.
RIPON – Ripon High's Ryan Durrer came to the plate as the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning, but could not hand the Escalon Cougars their first loss in over a month, striking out and sending Escalon home with a 6-4 Trans Valley League win.