While there were no classes on the campuses of the Escalon Unified School District last week, there was some sports activity, at home and on the road. A couple of Trans-Valley League contests, an invitational event and more were on the schedule for local athletes.
BASEBALL
Escalon’s varsity baseball boys put two wins on the books this past week, facing off against Orestimba in league play. They hosted the Warriors on Senior Night in Escalon, April 23, and won 11-1 in five innings.
“Josh Fiori went four innings and Ryan Murphy finished the last inning,” said head coach Gino Franceschetti.
Fiori helped his own cause, going 3-for-4 with three runs batted in while Murphy was 1-for-3 with two RBI. Logan Huebner and Brody Abbot had two hits each.
“Friday (at Orestimba) we won 14-0,” Franceschetti said. “Brody Abbot went all seven innings, striking out 11.”
Escalon racked up 13 hits; players with two hits each were Abbot, Dylan Ball, Fiori and Murphy.
“The RBI leaders that game were Logan Huebner with two, Josh Fiori with two, Dylan Ball with two and Ben Gonzalez,” noted Franceschetti.
Two make up games are on the schedule this week; first with a game hosting Ripon and then a road trip to Sonora. The Cougars need to win one of the two games to insure a playoff spot.
JV Boys – Opening at home against Orestimba on April 23, the JV baseball boys fell behind 1-0 in the second but put two runs on the board in the bottom of the sixth to craft a 2-1 win.
“The pivotal moment was back-to-back bunts by Cole Elsholz and Alex Girardi in the sixth,” said head coach Carlos Herrera. “Alex executed a perfect bunt and run aided by Orestimba’s first baseman’s inability to secure the ball.”
Elsholz alertly went from first to third with great baseball running on the play, said the coach.
“He later scored; that got us going and propelled us to the win,” Herrera said.
Friday on the road it was a 6-0 shutout victory for the Escalon JV team. They scored three in the first, two in the second and added one in the seventh, collecting 10 hits on the day.
“Aiden Ramirez with another outstanding outing,” Herrera said of his pitcher, who went the distance, allowing just three hits, two walks, struck out three and didn’t allow any runs.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
With the regular season finale at home on April 23, the Escalon varsity Cougar volleyball boys had to face off with the TVL’s top team, Ripon Christian. They lost the battle in straight sets, falling to the visiting Knights 15-25, 11-25, 12-25.
“We lost our final match and unfortunately did not make it to playoffs but we were very close,” said head coach Shay Beam. “I thought our boys played well considering how good RC is. We had several tough serves by Aydun Melo and Mikie Lourenco.”
Even though they didn’t take a set from the Knights in the finale, the coach said she was proud of the effort from her team.
“They (RC) run a very quick offense and our boys dug them the best that they could,” Beam said. “We ended the season 7-11 overall and were fourth in league. I’m looking forward to watching the program continue to grow. We really enjoy the boys program; they are so much fun to watch and coach.”
TRACK AND FIELD
Action for the Cougar track and field team members saw them on the road, taking part in the Bret Harte Invitational in Angels Camp on Saturday, April 26.
Head coach Arend Jones said “there were some great individual results” from the invite.
“Sophomore Victoria Calderon placed first and third in the 1600- and 800-meter races respectively,” said Jones. “Freshman Addison Correia placed second in the 400-meter race.”
Also, sophomore Carli Jones was second in both the high jump and long jump while senior Trenton Epps placed second in the 300-meter hurdles. Sophomore Jaecy Aldasoro placed first in discus.
“The throwers competed in the throwers only 4-by-100 relays and the girls placed second and the boys placed third,” Jones said of the unique running event. “Finally, there was also a fun Mascot Race in which junior Drew Bellinger participated for the Escalon Cougars.”
Escalon will host its last dual meet of the regular season on Wednesday, April 30 as Orestimba comes to town. It will be Senior Night as well and on Friday, the TVL frosh/soph championship will be hosted at Ripon High School.
On Thursday, May 8, the TVL varsity finals will be hosted at Hughson High School; that will be a qualifying meet for Sections, to be hosted the following week at Riverbank High School.
BOYS GOLF
The Cougar golfers were quiet during the Spring Break but did return to the course their first day back at school, April 28, playing at the End of the Year Tournament hosted at Micke Grove.
Ripon High School took first place and earned TVL championship honors with a team score of 385. They were followed by Ripon Christian, Hughson, Sonora, Hilmar, Escalon and Orestimba.
Escalon head coach Brandon Hoover reported his team was paced by an 86 shot by senior Dominic Arauza, followed by a 95 from junior Donovan Martinez, 99 from junior Brenden Berchtold and 107 by junior Matix Trimble. Teams advancing to next week’s Divisionals are Ripon, Ripon Christian and Hughson. Two Cougars – Brenden Berchtold and Dominic Arauza – qualified to compete as individuals.
“Brenden also earned second team All-League honors,” said Hoover.
ALL STAR HOOPS
Some Escalon players were selected for the recent 28th annual Six County All Star Senior Basketball Classic, featuring Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Merced, Mariposa, Calaveras and Tuolumne county high school seniors.
“Aiden Hohenwarter was selected for the senior girls and Sam Jimenez was selected for the senior boys,” said Escalon varsity boys head basketball coach Nate Bartelink. “Sam wasn’t able to participate in the game since he’s not fully cleared from the severe knee injury that caused him to miss his entire senior season … Sam wasn’t technically on a team, just selected to recognize his accomplishments prior to his injury.”
In the competition, the high school boys Red team won 107-90. For the high school girls, Hohenwarter was on the girls Blue team which took a 50-47 win off the court, with EHS varsity girls head coach Joseph Dalpogetti leading the team.
“Two of the eighth-grade players I had the opportunity to coach this past season at El Portal were selected to the prestigious Slam-n-Jam six county All-Star game at MJC,” Bartelink said of the Saturday night competition for the middle school teams.
Trevor Jansen and Avery Bartelink were the Escalon representatives.
“Both played really well in the game and got to showcase their basketball skills,” said Bartelink, who coached the eighth-grade girls all stars.
Both El Portal players were on the Black teams; and both were on the losing side in the all-star game, as the junior high White team girls won 46-38; the junior high White boys team took a 41-36 victory.
