A year removed from suffering a 9-8 loss while battling Central Valley’s softball team, crosstown-rival Ceres High exacted revenge this past week with a 10-0 mercy-rule win.
“I had jitters going into the game,” Bulldogs’ new leader Josie Heacox stated. “The first thing (former Ceres High head coach) Mike Corsaut said to me when I got hired was, ‘You better not lose to Central Valley.’”
“We were on the wrong end of a bad result,” Hawks’ head coach Jimmy Bates said. “I wasn’t expecting it to be 10-0. I think it will be more competitive the second time we play.”
Pitcher Alizae Cole notched her second no-hitter of her career while leading the third-place Bulldogs (9-7, 5-2) past the fourth-place Hawks (10-6, 4-4) in front of their home fans on Wednesday.
“I didn’t know until the last inning I pitched,” Cole said.
“She looked more relaxed and 10 times more confident on the mound,” commented Heacox.
“Alizae, their pitcher, is really good,” added Bates. “When she throws strikes, she’s hard to hit. We did our best to compete.”
Cole gave up no runs and no hits with six strikeouts and two walks in five innings.
“My control was really good,” Cole stated. “I hit my spots. A big help was my catcher (sophomore Emma Hernandez). She picks the pitches and I go with it. I trust her.”
“Those two have a really good pitcher-catcher relationship,” Heacox said.
Cole also starred on offense as she accounted for two of Ceres High’s 12 hits.
She collected two doubles, three RBIs and two runs in two at-bats.
Ava Montesdeoca batted 3-for-3 with one triple, two doubles, one RBI and two runs.
Elizabeth Figueroa batted 3-for-3 with one RBI and two runs.
Gabriela Ortiz batted 1-for-3 with one RBI and two runs.
Tatiana Ortiz batted 2-for-3 with two runs.
Samantha Alcarez batted 1-for-2 with one run.
Kylie Bond and Amaia Pritchett chipped in with one RBI apiece.
Hernandez and Illianna Saldana both scored once.
Hawk pitcher Brooklynn Steeley allowed five earned runs and eight hits with two strikeouts and five walks in four innings.
“I wasn’t expecting us to score that much,” said Heacox. “It was really cool to see us apply things we work on in practice in the game. I was impressed with their execution.”
Central Valley kept the game close through the first two innings.
The Hawks committed two errors while allowing six runs in the bottom of the third inning.
“They hit the ball hard,” noted Bates. “They put pressure on our defense. They took advantage of our mistakes.”
“I thought the game would be closer based on how they’ve been doing in league,” Cole added.
Central Valley has a 1-1 record against Ceres High during Bates’ three years as head coach.
The Hawks edged the Bulldogs by one run last spring.
“It means a lot,” Heacox said while talking about the crosstown rivalry. “These girls played with and against each other when they were little.”
“The coaches and players know each other,” Bates stated. “The stands are always full. You can feel the energy.”
“Everyone was hyped for this game,” Cole added. “Our whole team wanted to win because we lost to them in the past. We came into the game with a different mindset. We worked 10 times harder. We had fun. We didn’t put as much pressure on each other.”
