Sierra’s Brady Alves and defending champion Yok Chai Ma of Manteca will have their rubber match Thursday in the Valley Oak League singles tournament final after they split their regular-season meetings in team duals.

The two-day event began Tuesday at Manteca Regional Tennis Center. The title match, set to begin at around 11 a.m., will take place during the doubles tournament.

Ma swept Alves in the singles final last year. The No. 1 seed for this year’s tourney, Ma dispatched Devarsh Jayakrishnan of Kimball 8-0 in the opener and took care of Sierra’s Ashton Hillard, 8-1. He squared off with Manteca teammate Michael Osanna in the semifinals, winning, 6-3, 6-2.

Osanna went on to beat sixth-seeded Brady Krause of Oakdale 8-6 in the third-place match.

Alves, seeded second, knocked off East Union’s Anthony Gollihar 8-0 at the start and prevailed against Oakdale’s Jaden Lebsack, 8-2. 8-0.

Alves took on Krause in the semifinals and trailed 5-4 in the first set before winning nine of the final 10 games. He punched his ticket to the final with a 7-5, 6-1 victory.

GOLF

Ripon Christian 165, Mariposa 269

Trey Van Groningen continued his recent tear Tuesday at Jack Tone Golf Course, finishing 2-under-par 29 in the Southern Athletic League match He is 4-under in his last four starts.

The Knights tied their all-time low on the course. Ethan Schenk did his part with a 1-under 30. Matthew Ubick turned in a 33, Ben Miller a 36 and Jack Dooley a 37.

Gary Rovig Invitational

Ripon Christian played against mostly upper-division competition Monday at Copper Valley, placing 11th with a 33-over-par team score.

Van Groningen was the Knights’ top performer with a 1-under 71, good for sixth place, Schenk took 15th with a 74. Carter Van Groningen (88), Ubick (87) and Miller (99) also competed in the 108-man field or RC.

SOFTBALL

Lathrop 5, Beyer 4

The Spartans (6-4, 11-6 overall) took the lead for good with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and held on for the Western Athletic Conference win.

Beyer (3-7, 4-13) threatened to extend the game after Mackenzie Hough’s two-run homer in the seventh.

Senior pitcher Ariana Fuentes broke through the 100-strikeout barrier for a second straight year, firing 12 over six innings. She also gave up two runs on five hits and three walks. Maci De Costa closed it out.

Tianna Gonzalez led the offense with two hits and a run. Ja’Leiyah Ray plated a pair of runs, going 1 for 1 with a walk. Aubree Martinez, Luz De Luna and Fuentes each drove in a run.

JV softball

Beyer 25, Lathrop 8

Aaliyah Roberts went 1 for 3 for Lathrop.