The Ceres Sizzle 18-and-under travel softball team showed improvement during its opening tournament of the summer.

Ceres finished second overall while competing in the Silver Bracket of the Bay Area Classic, June 24-25, in San Jose.

“We hit the ball well,” head coach Audel Valencia said. “We put up a lot of runs. We played decent defense. My three pitchers got some reps. It’s going to take a little time to get the chemistry going.

The Sizzle compiled a 2-4 record.”

Ceres won two of three games during the second day of the tournament.

The Sizzle used multiple starting lineups the first day.

“We competed a little harder,” Valencia said. “I put everybody in positions where they shined the most.”

The Newman Bullets edged the Sizzle 8-7 in the championship game on June 25.

“It was a close game,” Valencia said. “We didn’t capitalize on a few opportunities and made a few mistakes at the end.”

Ceres shut out the Central Valley Firecrackers 12-0 in the semifinals on June 25.

The Sizzle topped the San Jose Twisters 6-2 on June 25.

Ceres dropped its first three games of the tournament.

The Sizzle lost to the Silicon Valley Fusion (12-0), Firecrackers (8-4) and Quakes (4-3).

Ceres had a host of contributors on offense at the Bay Area Classic.

Xhena Romo collected two doubles, five singles, five RBIs and five runs.

Vanessa Millan collected one double, one single, five RBIs and five runs.

Jannet Valencia collected one double, six singles, two RBIs and five runs.

Makenna Azevedo collected one double, four singles, three RBIs and four runs.

Destiny Herrera collected one triple, one single, one RBI and three runs.

Emily Lopez collected one single, one RBI and four runs.

“Being competitive at the plate is the most important thing,” coach Valencia said. “For the most part, everybody chipped in.”

Millan, Jannet Valencia and Jayden Corona logged playing time at pitcher.

“I don’t want to rely on one girl all weekend,” Audel Valencia said. “It’s a lot of pressure.”

“I have confidence in all three pitchers,” he added.

Millan totaled three strikeouts while notching two wins in San Jose.

“She’s got very good control and command of her pitches,” coach Valencia said. “She knows how dissect batters. She’s a very smart player.”

Valencia carried 10 players on his roster for the Bay Area Classic.

Romo, Millan, Azevedo, Herrera, Corona, Jannet Valencia, Athena Dizney and Aleksa Oliveros are returners.

Lopez and AJ Wright are newcomers.

“Everybody knows what’s expected of them,” Audel Valencia said. “They’re all pretty seasoned players. Most of them just got done playing softball in high school.”

“We just want to try to win as many games as possible,” he added.