Central Valley and Ceres High had a combined seven players compete in the 31st Modesto Sunrise Rotary All-Star Baseball Classic earlier this month in Turlock.
Central Valley’s Ryan Estermann, Diego Delahoya, Miguel Espinoza, Garret Garcia and the Gold team edged Ceres High’s Joshua Prestridge, Landyn Hudson, Brayden Clark and the Blue team 10-4 on June 10 at Stanislaus State’s Warrior Field.
“I don’t think there have been four players from Central Valley in recent years on the All-Star team,” said Estermann, a four-year varsity contributor with the Hawks. “It shows the way CV is growing as a program.”
“We deserved to be there because of all of our hard work,” Espinoza added. “We were there for a reason. We were there to compete. There was no messing around.”
Estermann, Delahoya, Espinoza and Garcia enjoyed teaming up one final time.
“Diego, Ryan and Garret are my best friends,” Espinoza said. “It was awesome playing with them one last time.”
“It’s sad but it’s also exciting,” Delahoya stated. “It’s a new chapter for us.”
“It was a really great experience playing with them one final time,” Garcia added. “I hope they have great success in college.”
Estermann logged playing time at third base and second base.
He singled twice and walked once on offense.
“I had fun,” Estermann said. “The experience showed what college is going to look like. Every pitch, at-bat and out is going to count for something.”
“The most enjoyable part was bonding with the players that were on my childhood travel teams,” he added.
Estermann will play baseball at a four-year college. He plans to announce what school he’s going to sign with this week. He narrowed down his choice of colleges to two.
Delahoya logged playing time at pitcher, shortstop and third base.
He allowed one run with two strikeouts in one inning on the mound.
He walked twice on offense.
“It was fun to play with and against some of the best players in the County,” Delahoya said. “I think I did well. I felt good about my performance. I faced one of the top players and got him out.”
Delahoya plans to play baseball for Modesto Junior College this spring.
Espinoza logged playing time at catcher.
He collected two singles and one RBI on offense.
“I’m happy with my performance,” Espinoza said. “I held my own. It was a great experience. I loved playing on a college field. I’ll being doing that the next couple years as a college athlete.”
Espinoza will continue his baseball career at Allan Hancock College. The community college is located in Santa Maria.
Garcia, a junior, logged playing time at first base.
He singled and knocked in one run on offense.
“Being able to play in the All-Star game (as a junior) was a great honor,” Garcia said. “The experience of playing on a college field is really cool. It gives you a perspective of what the next level is like.”
Garcia also enjoyed earning crosstown, bragging rights again.
“We swept Ceres High School my three years at Central Valley,” he said. “Being able to beat them one more time was really fun.”
Prestridge logged playing time at third base.
He batted 0-for-2 from the plate.
“It was cool seeing some of my friends from former travel ball teams again,” said Prestridge, who played organized baseball for the final time.
“The amount of talent on the field was impressive,” he added.
Prestridge will major in nursing as he focuses on academics at Modesto JC.
Hudson and Clark couldn’t be reached for comment.
Prestridge, Clark, Estermann, Garcia, Delahoya earned all-league honors for their outstanding play during the 2023 regular season.
Prestridge was named to the Western Athletic Conference First Team.
He batted .349 from the plate with one homer, four doubles, five RBIs and eight runs.
Clark, a junior, was named to the WAC Second Team.
He posted a 5-1 record at pitcher with 33 strikeouts.
Prestridge, Clark and Hudson filled major roles as Ceres High (7-17, 6-8) earned the Western Athletic Conference’s fourth-and-final postseason berth. The Bulldogs competed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-II playoff bracket.
Estermann was voted the Central California Conference’s Utility Player of the Year.
He batted .333 from the plate on the season with four homers, nine doubles, 19 RBIs and 22 runs.
He posted a 5-2 record on the mound with a 1.69 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 411/3 innings.
He hit .304 with five homers, three triples, 21 doubles, 61 RBIs and 50 runs in 80 career games.
Garcia was selected to the CCC Second Team.
He batted .266 from the plate with two homers, eight doubles, 11 RBIs and nine runs.
Delahoya was a CCC honorable-mention selection.
He compiled a 3-3 record with a 2.39 ERA and 66 strikeouts at pitcher.
He totaled six hits, one RBI and seven RBIs on offense.
Espinoza collected three doubles, seven singles, four RBIs and six runs.
Estermann, Garcia, Delahoya and Espinoza filled key roles as the fourth-place Hawks (14-13, 5-7) fell one win short of qualifying for the Division-I playoffs.
