Page 9 - Sanger Herald 4-19-18 E-edition

SangerSports
SANGER HERALD * PAGE 1B * THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018
Volleyball team is no longer an underdog
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
At the start of the season, Sanger’s boys varsity volleyball team wasn’t predicted to be much of a contender.
The Apaches graduated most of their most experienced players the year before.
“Everyone expected us to be way down (in the rankings),” said coach Scott Okada. “They didn’t expect our young guys to play the way they’re playing. Now their mindset has to change.”
Sanger leads the County Metro Athletic Conference with an overall record of 25-6 and 3-0 in league. In Division I rankings, the Apaches trail only Clovis High, which has an overall record of 26-2. This was as of last week.
But success just means other teams pay attention, and Sanger becomes the target of every underdog.
Bullard tried to knock Sanger from its recently won pedestal on April 12. The home crowd for the Knights got into the match,
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
John Her, No. 4, sets the ball for Jesus Gomez in the match against a scrappy Bullard team last week. Sanger won.
games, 25-23, 25-21 and 25-22. The Knights rank in the Division I cellar with an overall record of 13-15 and would like nothing better than to topple any more accomplished team. However, like Sanger, Bullard has quite a few younger players who will likely remember this season and try valiantly to improve on it in years to come.
This week, Sanger was to play Edison and Madera and travel to Granite Bay for the Brian Nolan Tournament April 21.
And the team came off a busy schedule, having played the Bellarmine Invitational Tournament in San Jose on April 6-7 and Madera South several days before the Bullard game. Assistant coach Marcos Mireles said he could see the fatigue in his athletes. “You’ve played a lot of volleyball,” he told the team after the Bullard match. “I see the wear and tear.”
Okada told his team to take it easy over the weekend and practice only if they wanted to get together.
“It wasn’t real clean. It wasn’t real pretty,” he told the team of the win against Bullard. “(But) you pulled it out in three.”
And Okada addressed the change in perception of the Apaches this season. “When we started the year, we were the underdogs,” he said. “Then we won some games. Now everybody’s shooting for us.”
Sanger established itself as a force in the region in its rematch with Clovis East on March 15. The home game served as vindication for the loss earlier that month in the Sanger Slam Tournament by a couple points.
Senior Jesus Gomez gave the Knights respect for their effort. “It was a close game,” he said. “But Bullard made more errors than we did. We made the right plays and the right adjustments.”
Senior Seth Moua said Sanger has achieved its record — MaxPreps ranks 54th in the state and 84th in the nation — despite fielding a bunch of young players. “We’re not as big as other teams,” he
said. “(But) we focused on playing well, being consistent and having good defense.”
Still, nobody’s perfect. And Moua said, “Some days some people are off.”
But he said the team’s youth is also one of its greatest assets, balancing off days and inspiring better play amongst veterans like himself. “I look up to these young kids,” he said. “I look to them for advice, and I think they look to me for leadership and experience.
“It’s a great thing to have on a team. We play hard. We work hard. And we play together. It’s a great team.”
Moua said he maintains a positive outlook and shares that. “I think teams fall apart when negativity comes out,” he said.
Okada also mentioned volleyball being a mental game. And these Apaches may take Moua’s positive mindset and keep winning.
The reporter can be contacted by email at sangerheraldsports@gmail. com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
and Bullard kept it close. The Knights traded score for score with the Apaches, sometimes leading, sometimes falling behind
momentarily.
They wanted the win. But they didn’t get it. The
Apaches dispatched the scrappy Knights in three
Pitchers' duel fuels intense game
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Jake Harrell stepped to the pitcher’s mound with quiet confidence.
The fact that his Apaches that night faced one of the best teams in the County Metro Athletic Conference Division II standings likely wandered the periphery of his thoughts. But mostly he was all business, pitching practice balls to catcher Jose Quinonez.
They wanted the win and were determined to shut down whatever the Coyotes brought to the plate. Spoiler, Sanger lost 2-1.
But Madera pitcher Christian Chavira and his teammates proved worthy adversaries, choking access to home plate to all but Apache Justin Boissonneault, whose scoring run in the bottom of the first inning proved to be the only run on the scoreboard until the final inning. And the senior shortstop’s score was hardly simple, requiring a couple steals and a dash to home during an at-bat by Harrell.
Senior Jaime Pacheco may have inspired his fellow Apaches to notch that first score at the bottom of the first. “C’mon, c’mon. Let’s get these bats goin’,” he said. Junior Darrin Herring also singled, but a blast deep into center field by Quinonez was caught.
Harrell and his Apaches kept at it, holding onto the lead. The junior pitcher accumulated nine strike outs inning after inning.
“It’s a pitcher’s duel so you can’t give up too much,” Harrell said after the April 10 game at the Sanger High ball field. And referring to his team, he said, “They played good defense today.”
But Chavira matched Harrell’s intensity. And
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Jake Herrell throws out a pitch against a Madera batter during an April 10 battle. Below is Coyote Christian Chavira.
after the game, he’d been in a position like that April 6 in a game against arch- rival Madera South. It was the top of the ninth inning and the score was tied at 2 apiece, and Hefner hit a grand slam. That won the game.
Hefner was the third batter Rodriguez faced. But the Coyote said he was relaxed and prepared when he hit a home run over the right field fence.
And it was way over. Hefner and Chivara crossed home plate. The 2-1 score held despite a heroic comeback attempt by the Apaches with a couple of hits and stolen bases.
“Every time I hit it like that, it feels great,” Hefner said. And despite being one of the biggest guys on the field, adults included, he said he’s one of the short ones in his family with some uncles pushing 7 feet.
And he explained his thought process — or more accurately his lack of — when he faces the other team’s pitcher. “I’m not really thinking,” he said. “Just hitting the ball.”
And Hefner knew it could have gone either way. Such was the case in the bottom of the fifth when Harrell slammed a hit just a few feet shy of the outfield fence and a home run with Steven Martinez on base. Had that ball floated just a bit farther the game’s outcome would
have been far different. The level of defense showed two very strong teams. Neither let up. Both outfields supported their
pitchers almost flawlessly. Cuellar said as much. “Jake did a good job,” he said. “That’s a really good hitting team. I told them that’s a good baseball game.
Nothing to be ashamed of. “I was proud of our defense. That’s one of the best teams in D2. I wouldn’t
See Baseball, Page 2B
while he threw just three strike outs, he and his team shut down Sanger’s ability to send anybody home for the rest of the game.
For instance, in the bottom of the second, singles by Ryan Esparza and Javier Garcia went nowhere. Esparza, on third, had nowhere to go when a hit by Alex Avalos resulted in his getting thrown out on first for the third out.
Still, Sanger didn’t let up. The team played hard and smart.
At one point in the top of the second inning, Madera had loaded the bases. Then Chivara singled. But Quinonez took control, getting the catch and making the play, getting the second out and sending Coyote Tommy Molina back
to his team scoreless. “Love to see when he gets those out,” wrote Queli Soria on the Herald’s Facebook page under a photo of the play. “He is a
professional at that.”
The next batter promptly
got thrown out.
The drama held
everybody’s attention until the final play. Even after Madera, in the top of the seventh inning, took a one- run lead.
It was in that inning Alex Rodriguez took the mound for Sanger. Coach David Cuellar said he pulled Harrell because he had thrown four pitches short of the maximum 110 allowed in a game.
Chivara was first up and set the tone, getting a single.
“Slow the game down,” Cuellar said from the bench. “Get ready.”
The Apaches rallied, throwing out the next batter. But then No. 11 walked to the plate. The Coyote senior, who stands 6 feet 4 inches, had already been struck out twice. But in the process of those, he hit about a half dozen
foul balls out into the street or the adjoining neighborhood. In all, about a dozen Sanger balls disappeared that night. At a cost of about $5 per ball, that adds up.
The neighborhood kids likely love recovering the balls the next day.
That left Brian Hefner, No. 11, ready. He said