Page 13 - Mid Valley Times 3-12-20 E-edition

Thursday, March 12, 2020
Sanger soccer wins regional state title
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
Sanger High junior Michael Esparza scored a goal on a rebound in the first half of the CIF NorCal Regional Division 2 title game at Tom Flores Stadium on Saturday.
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
The Sanger High varsity soccer team celebrated four goals scored during their regional state title match against Redwood (Larkspur) and went on to win the match, 4-0.
Apache soccer team becomes first in school history to win title at state level
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
They did it! The Sanger Apaches var- sity soccer team will go down as the first athletic program in school history to win a championship game at the state level after defeating Redwood (Larkspur) at Tom Flores Stadium on Saturday, 4-0, for the CIF Northern California Regional title in Division 2.
“As a fellow Sanger resident who grew up playing the sport here, who played at this high school, who knew when I came back here that I had to give everything I could to help build this pro- gram, it means everything,” said Sanger High head soccer coach Alex Guiterrez. “It means everything to me. It means everything to this town.”
The Apaches earned their title bid on the road last week, defeating Las Lomas in Walnut Creek, 1-0, in the semifinals match on March 5. Making the trek up north to support the Apaches were near- ly 300 fans from the Sanger area.
“They were louder than the home crowd out there,” said Gutierrez. “And I think that’s a testament to this town, how much they love sports, how much they love these young men.”
That same support came out to Tom Flores Stadium on Saturday and filled the home side with a sea of red.th
“They were really our 12 man throughout all this,” Gutierrez added. “They were amazing.”
Winning their final seven games of the season, the Apaches varsity soccer team won the league title, something the team hadn’t done in over 39 years, and went on to win their first ever Valley Championship with a 4-1 victory over Dinuba High on Feb. 21.
The stars aligned in the CIF Nor- Cal Division 2 playoffs after defeating Central Valley High in penalty kicks in a first round thriller at home. The win over Las Lomas combined with upsets in the upper bracket set up the champion- ship game at Tom Flores Stadium.
In front of their home crowd, the
Danny Jimenez / Photo Contributed
Apaches did not disappoint. Breaking the scoreless game open was Sanger High Junior Luis Martinez, who capi- talized on a free kick from about 15 yards out in the 26th minute. His strike caught the Redwood goalie flat-footed and many players, and even some fans, confused as to how fast the goal came.
Nine minutes later, junior Michael Esparza came in for a rebound goal to put the Apaches up 2-0.
The Apache seniors got into the act in the second half as midfielder Luis Vil- legas was able to perfectly head in a cor- ner kick for a 3-0 Sanger lead in the 58th minute. And just before going into the game’s final extra time, senior forward Gabriel Torres struck on a breakaway and found the back of the net for the Apaches’ 4-0 lead and subsequent victory.
“They were there from the begin- ning,” Gutierrez said of his senior play- ers. “They believed and they bought into this project and they knew that hard work, dedication and determination was going to put us on this platform.”
As for the program, Gutierrez said this is just the beginning.
“We want to continue to build this program as much as possible,” he shared. “And we’re excited for the fu- ture of this sport in this town.”
Sanger High’s football team reached the CIF NorCal state title game in 2016, as did the girls’ water polo team in 2017. However, both those teams fell in the championship game. Saturday’s victory for the Sanger High soccer team is the first team state title in school history.
"They worked so hard for many months to reach this point," said Sanger High Athletic Director Brian Penner. "It is a tribute to their work ethic and dedi- cation."
The Sanger Apaches' varsity soccer team finished the season with a 24-3-5 overal record. They also finished as the No. 1 ranked team in the Central Sec- tion, the No. 13 ranked team in the state and the No. 58 ranked team in the nation (according to maxpreps.com).
Lady Emps rally for
win against Kerman
The Reedley High varsity baseball team posed with their championship trophies after defeating Dinuba High, 5-4, for the Central Valley Diamond Classic title on March 7.
Reedley High wins Central Valley Diamond Classic
Dinuba High softball improves to 8-3 as they enter league play
MVT Staff Report
The Dinuba High girls softball team’s offense woke up just in time as the Lady Emperors erased a 2-0 deficit by scoring seven runs in the last three innings for a 7-2 win over visiting Ker- man on Friday night.
The victory ended a brief three- game losing streak as Dinuba improved to 8-3 overall heading into Central Se- quoia League play.
Pitcher Erica Flores held Kerman to four hits. Jordynn Acevedo jump-start- ed the offense with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. Acevedo, along with Faith Hernandez and Haley Ama- dor, finished the game with two hits on the night.
The Lady Emperors entered the game posting a 1-3 record at the Red- wood Invitational on Feb. 29.
Dinuba dropped a tough 4-3 game to Centennial, who used a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh from Bethany Co- bian for the walk-off win.
The Lady Emperors had trailed 3-1
See LADY EMPS on page B2
George M. Villagrana
Mid Valley Times
In a nail-biting game decided on a controversial call, the Dinuba High baseball team dropped a 5-4 game to Reedley in the championship game of the Central Valley Diamond Classic Saturday night at Fowler High School.
The Emperors drop to 6-3 overall while Reedley moved to 8-1.
The call came with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Dinuba’s Jesse Ortega appeared to have stolen third base and initially was called safe. But the umpire quickly ruled Ortega out after Reedley third baseman Jacob Franco’s tag made Ortega’s foot come
off the bag.
“My argument was he called him
safe to begin with and then he called him out,” said Morrelli. “He was pushed off the bag. It’s hard that the game came down to that one call.”
Reedley scored a run in the top of the sixth and seventh innings to hold on for the win, a game that saw both teams miss bases loaded opportunities. Reedley got out quickly taking a 2-0 lead only to have Dinuba answer with three runs in the bottom of the second.
In the top of the fourth, the Pi- rates tied the game when Matt Vargas drew a one-out bases loaded walk that
See CVDC on page B10
George M. Villagrana / Mid Valley Times
Dinuba High pitcher Erica Flores threw a complete game in a win over Kerman Fri- day night. Flores had two strikeouts and allowed four hits.