WOODLAND - In a rematch of last season's Sac-Joaquin Section Division II first round, Pioneer of Woodland exacted a little revenge on the Manteca Buffaloes Tuesday, claiming a 5-4 victory.
OAKDALE - Scores of area athletes had what it took to qualify for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV Championships Saturday at Oakdale High, the site of the 2009 Valley Oak League Track & Field Championships.
OAKDALE - While Oakdale was busy racking up the win on the junior varsity boys' side Saturday at the Valley Oak League Championships, a couple of Lathrop jumpers had impressive days.
The 2009 East Union freshman softball team finished a perfect season at 21-0 that included an undefeated run through Valley Oak League play and an elusive win against Tracy High, the first of head coach Ron Kackley's career.
A coin flip, as it turns out, will not decide the Sierra High baseball team's postseason fate.
Just call her the "Cookie Monster." Despite a forfeiture request from Oakdale High spawning from an incident that happened in Sonora on April 20, the East Union Lancers set aside all the distractions Friday night at Northgate Park and sent off five seniors in style with a 10-0 blanking of Manteca. Alicia Cook, a four-year starter affectionately known as "Cookie" in Lancer circles, led the emotional charge with the first home run of her career. ...
Word came down well before game time Friday at Sierra High that the Oakdale Mustangs were requesting a forfeit because of a situation with an East Union player, and that if the forfeit is upheld, Sierra's season would come to a close following seven innings with Weston Ranch.
RIPON - Senior ace Sarah Nieweg took her final bow, and freshman Katie Thomas gave Ripon Christian a promising glance into the future as the Knights ended both the season and a 30-game Trans Valley League losing streak with a 10-4 victory against rival host Ripon Friday.
Sierra High's girls track and field team returns to the site where it suffered its only Valley Oak League loss today.
SALIDA - Mark Whelan didn't bother to congratulate and thank Hughson coach Bob Etcheverry after the Huskies pulled off a dramatic 7-6 victory over Modesto Christian Friday.
Jenny Ketner tossed a complete-game, six-hitter and struck out seven as the East Union sophomore softball team knocked off Manteca, 7-0, Friday night at Northgate Park.
Arnie Morales and Yassen Aniss combined forces on the doubles court for the first time this season Thursday at East Union High and the result was magic, as the duo took down Sonora's Eric Segerstrom and Luke Bergen, 6-4, 7-5, in the Valley Oak League doubles championship match.
It's not often that soft-spoken Sierra skipper Jack Thomson runs afoul of an umpire. But Tuesday at Agostini Field, after Wade Morten sent a rocket over the fence in left that looked to have drifted well into foul territory, Thomson had seen enough. "I wasn't exactly sure if it was fair or foul," Morten said. "Hopefully we can get a donation this year and get some taller foul poles or some brighter colors out there." ...
After two long, hard years the Weston Ranch Cougars finally have the monkey off their back. Clean execution and timely hitting helped the Cougars – who were riding a 26-game Valley Oak League losing streak heading into Thursday's season finale against intra-district rival Manteca – operate like a finely tuned machine en route to their 6-2 victory over the Buffaloes. "We definitely ended the season on a high note," Weston Ranch head coach Dave Smith ...
RIPON - Ripon head coach Mark Whelan will be the biggest Hughson Huskies fan today. After wrapping up an expected season sweep of Riverbank 10-2 Thursday, the Indians' Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoff hopes now hinge on today's Modesto Christian-Hughson Trans Valley League finale in Salida. Ripon (9-6, 11-11 overall) sits a half game ahead of MC at second place in the standings, but a Hughson loss today would put an end to the Indians' ...
The budding friendship between Carl Chandler and Lechi Nkwocha was first tested on the pitch.
Twenty one area athletes will compete in the final Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Meet today and Friday, the last stop before the CIF State Championships.
LODI - Manteca was one pitch away from advancing to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV finals for the second time in three years.
Limping, Kianna Lamont entered the game in the eighth minute and nearly changed East Union's fortune with one good leg.
LODI - Austin Ragsdale is no small-time pitcher on a small-school team.
Jim Todd took a moment to himself to wade through the emotions following a season-ending loss to Colfax.
Will Brink didn't need a playoff hole to qualify for the CIF State Golf Championships, but he did need a strong finish to earn his spot.
STOCKTON - Senior grad night and the always-pesky Kimball softball team almost got the better of Sierra in Friday's Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV semifinal at Arnaiz Stadium.
LODI – Ripon Christian's Danny Vander Molen was handed the ball for just his third start of the season Friday night.
RIPON – Kevin Tameling remembers a time not so long ago when Ripon Christian was all heart with little results.
Phillip Herrera and Emmanuel Elijah opted not to join their senior classmates at Magic Mountain Thursday night.
STOCKTON – Nicole Kaiser performed like she had a ticket to play Division I softball on Thursday.
Racing against time and trailing by a score, the East Union girls soccer team turned to desperation.
LODI – Jake Corn had confidence in his fastball.
LODI - Chandler Bengston woke up Central Catholic's bats with a loud two-run dinger that sparked a game-breaking, two-out rally.