Page 9 - Sanger Herald e-Edition 5-16-19

Baseball
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the way they swing those bats,” Summers said in a lull a couple innings later. “And they’re not intimidated at all, which is a good thing.”
In the bottom of the second, Sanger let loose. Ryan Esparza singled, and El Diamonte pitcher Kyle Marsh walked Apache catcher Darrin Herring. Both Apaches stole bases, putting Herring on second and Esparza on third.
Then it was designated hitter Andrew Herrera’s turn at bat. Herrera singled, sending both base runners home. Score was 3-2.
It should be mentioned that Sanger High principal Dan Chacon arrived wearing his lucky cowboy hat at this point in the game. Chacon’s presence with the hat has led to
Volleyball
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he was still bummed out at the loss. “Love this team,” he said. And Ly said he’d remember all of them, “For sure.” And he said the outpouring was nice.
“Biggest crowd we ever had,” Ly said.
The result of that tall and elevated hitting by the Clovis front line meant those in the Sanger
many Apache victories. And although there is no scientific connection with the hat and wins, it sure doesn’t hurt. Chacon left the hat behind when the Apache volleyball team lost in the playoffs to Clovis.
After those two runs, third baseman Nathan Padilla got hit by one of Marsh’s pitches, and second baseman Mason Lopez singled. Avalos then came up in the rotation for his second at-bat, hitting the ball deep into right field. It was caught, but Herrara ran home. Score was 4-2. Martinez was thrown out on the next play, but Padilla ran home, closing out scoring at 5-2.
Jake Harrell, pitching for Sanger, fanned his first at bat to start the third. Then Marsh, the Miners’ pitcher, took a swing at one of Harrell’s fastballs, and his bat broke. Clean. He looked a little sheepish as a teammate handed him a replacement. Then he hit a
back court had to remain constantly vigilant. The job of preventing a kill or spike, or digging the ball, fell on the shoulders of libero Gohan Thao, a junior, Aaron Ly, Britton Navo and others.
“All good,” Thao said when asked about the barrage that came his way during the game. He said the backup provided by his teammates helped him tremendously. “It’s a family,” he said. “It’s a
chopper toward third base. But Padilla was there. Choppers, or a bouncing hit, are one of his specialties. He threw to Alec Flores on first. Out. Then another out. Lopez threw to first that
time.
The next and final
Apache score came in the bottom of the fifth. Harrell singled, and outfielder Alex Rodriguez tripled, sending Harrell home. Score was 6-3.
Rodriguez broke for home during the next at bat when Esparza’s ball got caught. But Rodriguez got tagged out.
“The third base coach made a good call,” Summers said, referring to Rodriguez’s decision to steal home base. “How often do you get a perfect throw to home?”
The Miners replaced Marsh on the mound with Chace Watson, another senior. “This pitcher looks 10 mph faster,” Summers said.
brother thing. The coaches are more than coaches. Another dad. We know they’ll be there.”
Thao said they weren’t happy with the outcome of the game “but in the end, we played our hardest. In the end, we’re still proud. We’ll hold our heads up. No matter how good another team is, their bond is never as good as ours.
“We always believe in each other. No matter what.”
Summers played pitcher on that 1950 team. He said Harrell will be good.
Sanger lost to El Diamonte last year in the CIF Central Section playoff 1-0 in the semi-final. The Miners subsequently lost to No. 1 seed San Joaquin Memorial in the final 8-2.
This year, No. 2 Sanger played No. 3 Fresno in the semis May 15. The final is May 17.
“Good win,” Rodriguez said after the El Diamonte game. “Great win. It (stunk) last year when they knocked us off in the playoffs. (This year) we’re feeling good. We’re practicing hard. I want to win the Valley championship.”
Apache head coach David Cuellar was pleased, too. “Definitely a big hump for us to get over,” he said of the Miners’ game. “The first playoff game is the biggest. Then you settle in and do what you have to.”
Cuellar said the Miners
are a well coached team. Harrell said it was a tough game. “We won,” he said. “That’s all that matters. They (the Miners)
are always good.” Herrera, one of two
freshmen on the Apaches this season, said he did his best to help his team. He said when he approached home for his first at-bat, the one that broke open the game, he wasn’t nervous. “I just cleared my mind and did what I did,” he said. “It felt great. Felt like the team had my back.”
And he said then he was confident Sanger would win.
Lopez’s single in the second was a bunt that loaded the bases. He said he was ready when he got the sign to use the batting technique. “All week we worked on bunts,” he said. “So I said (to myself), ‘It’s just another day.’ And it just worked out, and I got on base.”
Lopez said his team is
playing well. “Everybody’s doing their part,” he said. “Everybody’s clicking. Everybody’s confident in themselves, and they’re finally trusting in their abilities.”
Cuellar at that point had switched the music selection in the stadium to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.” Most people had left the field and the stands.
Avalos said the game was a blast. “Even though we were down 1-0, for me to get a triple and for him (the outfielder who misjudged the deep hit’s vector) not to catch the ball was a blessing,” he said. “A lot of us can hit, and we’re one of the best hitting teams. A lot of our players are special. A lot of things are special about this team.
“We’ll play (Pete) Beiden Field (at Fresno State).”
SANGER HERALD
2B THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2019
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Sanger High's varsity boys tennis team won back to back Valley championships with the victory over Visalia's Central Valley Christian on May 7 at home. The athletes burst through a very long banner that signified their achievement. "I'm just proud of what we accomplished," Jeremiah Yang said after accepting a plaque from principal Dan Chacon.
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
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