Page 9 - Sanger Herald 3-21-19 E-edition

SangerSports
SANGER HERALD * PAGE 1B * THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2019
Gomez builds reputation as a UC Merced Bobcat
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Andrew Mitchell, sports information director at the University of California Merced, reached out about one of his school’s standout volleyball players — Jose Leon Gomez.
Gomez, 6-foot-6, graduated in 2015 from Sanger High. On his signing in May 2015, Scott Okada, Apache volleyball coach, said Gomez “is probably one of the top four players in the Valley, and the competition is a little stiff.”
Gomez is still a contender. “He is now having a career season as a senior,” Mitchell said via email. “He is the first Bobcat this year to eclipse the 100 plus kills mark and has already posted three different career-highs this year. He smacked a career- high 16 kills this past
UC Merced photo
Former Apache Jose Gomez has had a standout season for the University of California Merced Bobcats this year.
“He was a good student athlete on and off the court.” Gomez and Xiong had played together since eighth grade.
“I just try my best to improve every day and learn from my mistakes,” Gomez said. Mitchell interviewed him and forwarded his comments to the Herald. “I am 100 percent focused on what I can do for my team in order to accomplish our goals. We have a team that has a lot of chemistry, competition, positive energy and that plays a role in helping us grow each and every practice. Every single player on our team can be a starter. I work hard off the court as well to become stronger, healthier and more athletic.
“I have a lot of trust from my team, especially my coaches Ai Prachumsri and Victoria Rouse as well
as my setters Ryan Steele and Joey Medina.
“I actually did not know that I led the team in kills until my high school coach Scott Okada texted me the other day and said, ‘I saw you are leading the team in kills! Good job!’ Now knowing that I rank in the country’s Top 40 in kills and hitting percentage is even crazier. As good as it feels to get the kills, at the end of the day the only thing that I am focused on is doing whatever I need to do on and off the court to help my team accomplish our goals.
“My personal goal is to not leave UC Merced without knowing that I left my heart out on the court and make an impact on this program. We all have a day where we do bad and make mistakes, but what really matters is that we bounce back bigger and stronger.”
On March 4, Gomez
notched a pair of double- double’s against two NCAA opponents.
He had 13 kills and 10 digs against UC Santa Cruz. The double-double was the first of his career, and the win over UC Santa Cruz was the Bobcats first in eight tries all-time.
Gomez shared match- high with 14 kills and tied his career-high with 11 digs against the seventh ranked team in the NCAA Division III, Dominican University. Mitchell said Gomez is now at 170 kills and is just the fourth player in program history to tally that mark in a single-season. That mark is good for 14th in the NAIA, he said.
The reporter can be contacted by email at nemethfeatures@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
Sunday (Feb. 17) against UC Santa Cruz, one of six double-figure kill matches he has posted in 2019.
“Furthermore, four of his six double-figure kill matches have come while hitting .400 or higher, five at .300 or higher. Leon Gomez is ranked 34th in the
country with a .319 hitting percentage and 36th in the country with 105 kills overall.”
Gomez’s Apache teammate Tshu-Fue Xiong joined the Bobcats as a walk-on but left the team in August 2018 to focus on academics, Mitchell said.
Apaches roll to
Memorial win
Sanger's team this year rockets to a 9-2 record, looking strong and wanting to make a statement
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Tanner Sagouspe tripled off a pitch from Sanger’s Alec Flores to open the bottom of the fourth inning.
Then Flores, a senior, struck out the next San Joaquin Memorial player, R.J. Munoz. But the Apache pitcher then walked the next player and gave up a single to Panthers catcher Jordan Smith, setting up a possible offensive surge and the elimination of the Apaches’ 3-1 lead.
But Darrin Herring at catcher and Nathan Padilla on third had other ideas. In a flash, Padilla recovered the left-field hit and fired it into Herring’s mitt just as Sagouspe reached about three-quarters of the distance to home plate. And, despite some athletics on Sagouspe’s part to score, Herring put an end to his ambitions.
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Catcher Darrin Herring tags out Panther Tanner Sagouspe and derails SJM's momentum.
thing, and I just did my thing.”
Flores fanned the last two Panther batters in the bottom of the sixth.
Then in the seventh, Sanger took off with Jake Harrell, Daniel Rodriguez and Herring scoring runs. Alex Rodriguez held on after taking up pitching duties despite an intense effort by Memorial wanting to win. In the huddle near the scoreboard after the game Cuellar called out A-Rod for his role in the effort.
“A-Rod, that’s you baby,” Cuellar said. And to the team, “We got 14 hits. That’s a great job.”
Cuellar said Memorial was expected to be a challenge. Sanger after the game had a 9-2 overall record and Memorial 10-3.
“Memorial and us, we’ve been toe-to-toe the last several years,” he said. “Memorial knows we’re division rivals. This is a typical Memorial-Sanger game, a lot of grind. Both teams are good.”
This is Cuellar’s ninth year coaching his Apaches andhesaidalotofthe team’s success so far this season and in past years has to do with consistency. “These seniors have been together four years, all year long,” he said. “There’s a lot of kinship here.
“And when we have two
pitchers like Jake and Alec, I wouldn’t want to be facing either of them.”
Harrell has committed to play for Fresno State next year.
After the game, father of assistant coach Billy Bejeckian, Sam Bejeckian, said, “You’re a championship team. (But) our work is not done.”
A-Rod said he “strapped down and got it done. I knew I had to buckle down and do it for my team.” And, he added, “We’ve got a good bond, like no other team out there.”
Herring said he’s still on the quest for that home run or multiples. And A-Rod already has one but said he wants more.
Sanger’s two losses came back to back and both with scores of 2-1 against Selma and Sierra Pacific of Hanford. The team has beaten Dinuba, Edison, Golden West of Visalia and Madera. The team played Madera South on Tuesday.
“It’s still early,” Cuellar said. “These guys have been committed to the process. Off-season lifting, summer and fall ball and having consistency with coaches on all levels.”
The reporter can be contacted by email at nemethfeatures@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
Flores fanned the next at bat.
“I just didn’t want them to score,” said Padilla, a junior. “I felt if they scored, they’d have momentum.”
Memorial, described by Apaches coach David Cuellar as one of the best hitting teams in the region, did generate some momentum in the next inning. But the Apaches with Flores on the mound
kept their composure. “We’ve got a strong team, a good team,” Herring said after the March 15 game, which his Apaches won 8-6. “Lot of experience. We grind. We’re all for each
other.”
And Flores said he may
have felt the pressure. “Just a little,” he said. No doubt the flurry of Memorial bats in the bottom of the fifth added
to it. But he maintained focus until handing off the slinging duties to Alex “A-Rod” Rodriguez in the bottom of the seventh. The game was held at Memorial stadium.
“I have a good D behind me, so I trusted them,” Flores said. “And I went after it. These guys had me. They gave me energy. When I came back into the dugout, I let them do their
Tennis team looks to repeat last year's successes
By Noah Corea
Hi-Lights reporter
After a successful season last year as County Metro Athletic Conference champions, the boy’s tennis team is poised for success once again.
Coach Jeremy Warkentin carries this same mentality to practice every day. He hopes the Apaches have what it takes to win another CMAC and Valley championship.
“Any team sport teaches accountability, hard work, discipline and selflessness,” Warkentin said. “Tennis, and other sports, have helped me to understand and practice those traits.”
Warkentin’s players share a mutual goal.
“Our team’s goal is to be CMAC champs again, and win Valley again,” said senior Brent Pinney. Pinney couldn’t get his mind off his championship and winning Valley with his team last year.
It appeared the team shares Pinney’s enthusiasm for winning, especially after success at a recent tournament. The Apaches traveled to the Division I Visialia Invitational on March 9, where the Apaches had the first seed and a lot to prove. Sanger’s seed was well earned, as the Apaches took second in singles and first and third
in doubles.
“We played really well
this weekend and came out on top. Yeah, I’m really proud of my team,” Pinney said.
Sanger won both team matches against Redwood and Buchannan, both with final scores of 5-1, becoming tournament champions. The team followed that with a win March 12 of 9-0 against Madera.
The players know they have to work extra hard, especially as defending champions.
“A flawless varsity season, a lot of work and a lot of ambition” are what Jakob Ontiveros, another
established team leader, said he thinks is the key to the season. With that kind of mindset, it’s hard not to find his passion infectious. Repeating as champions isn’t the only thing tennis is looking to accomplish this season, as Bullard is a big-time rival.
“Our biggest game this year is Bullard,” Warkentin said. “We always try to play them hard.”
Aside from winning CMAC championship last year, he said beating Bullard is among his favorite tennis moments.
This year it appears as if athletes on the boys tennis team are not only mentally prepared to repeat as
Candi Reimer / Hi-Lights
The boys tennis team seeks to repeat last year's success.
CMAC champs, but they are ready to make the Sanger High Apaches a force in the Valley for years to come.
The reporter writes for
the Sanger High School newspaper Hi-Lights. This story originally appeared in the March 14 edition of the school paper.