Page 9 - Sanger Herald 5-9-19 E-edition

SangerSports
SANGER HERALD * PAGE 1B * THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2019
Mike Nemeth, editor
nemethfeatures@gmail.com
Lacrosse pulls off a win against the Highlanders
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
After the game with McLane, lacrosse goalie Jennifer Cisneros got out of the protective gear over her uniform and showed why it didn’t quite live up to its name.
Her bruises — about five of them and mostly on her legs — were about the size of the hard yellowish ball that McLane’s forwards hurled at her in her tiny goal. The Highlanders, visiting Tom Flores Stadium on April 30, wanted to score. Desperately.
Cisneros made that very difficult.
“I’m the target,” she said. “I just react to the ball.”
The senior is now in her second year fending off repeated game- time assaults by highly motivated athletes slinging the aforementioned ball into her goal with a small net affixed to a stick. And she’s a big reason this team rolled to a win against the
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Meleanna Martinez catches the ball on the way to scoring three goals in the Apaches' 8-3 win over McLane.
overmatched McLane by a Cisneros said her score of 8-3. Apaches “are coming up
as a team,” and she called winning the best feeling. She said her teammates improved their shots and defense as the season progressed.
“We had to learn to work with each other, and we just built it up over time,” she said. “Last year, we had six returners. And we were all new.”
New head coach Marissa Caraveo said her plan is to build a strong program. She said this year a lot of new girls turned out, including girls basketball standout and senior Annie Lopez. “We’ve got so many new freshmen,” Caraveo said. “(And) they’re actually starting in the game.”
She singled out Lopez for praise. “She has grown so much,” Caraveo said. “This sport is really intense. You can get hit with a stick, kicked in the shin or hit with the ball.”
Just learning the rules and skills required to ferry a ball down the field while “cradling” it and playing
defense effectively is tough. Lopez said she picked up the basics pretty quickly and just kept improving.
Lopez scored three goals, matching the number sophomore Meleanna Martinez had in the game. Senior Viviana Montes scored one and junior Mia Reyes another.
Lopez said she seriously considered joining the team in previous years after basketball season concluded but just never made the move.
She said she doesn’t like track or softball but really found lacrosse to be fun and challenging. She’s joined on the team by another varsity athlete, water polo player Victoria Torres, a junior.
“So, I said, I’m going to try it,” Lopez said. “(I was told you) just need to be athletic. I didn’t know the fundamentals, but I got the hang of them after the first game.”
Caraveo rallied her team just before the game
started. “It’s a beautiful day for lacrosse,” she said. “Let’s get out there and get a win. Score as many goals as possible.”
The McLane goalie, sophomore Kashia Lee, prevented quite a few attempts, racking up at least a half dozen blocks.
And Caraveo predicted a robust future.
“I’m pretty excited about the coming seasons,” she said. “With all the freshmen I have.”
Junior Syria Gonzalez said her team is good.
“We know how to communicate,” she said. “A lot of the starters are new, so basically it’s teamwork. We put the anger to the other team.”
Junior Clarice Gutierrez said this was her first season. “We work really well together,” she said. “And we communicate. We really do support each other. A lot of new friendships (were formed).”
Softball ends regular season with W
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Emily Fortaney, Danessa Castro and Maddy Mata got a little misty on Sanger softball’s senior night.
The senior trio and their teammates had just beaten Edison in a come-from- behind 8-3 win that showed they have the collective willpower and talent that it takes to destroy any team in their league. But scoring five runs in the sixth inning was something completely different than being a senior and having to say goodbye.
“I’m going to miss softball,” Castro said after the April 30 game. “A lot.”
Fortaney teared up a little, too. But she brushed them off and said her Apaches know how to rally. “I knew we were going to be good, that we were going to come through,” she said.
And Mata, who played shortstop, was a big part of that. She singled in the bottom of the first inning, then stole second, setting up what looked like an early dominating performance.
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Senior Maddy Mata breaks the game open against Edison in the sixth inning.
softball.”
And that’s maybe why on
a subsequent play, after the Tigers’ Ciweya Tennison walked Apache sophomore Sophia Mares and struck out junior Amber Vasquez, that Pennington said what she said.
Mata walked from the dugout. “Make it happen, Maddy,” coach said, pacing near first.
Mata knew what rested on her shoulders. Montejano had been thrown out at home base. The Apaches had two outs.
“I have to get something, have to get something,” Mata said of what was going through her head. “We are not going to tie or lose this game.”
Mata made sure of that. She singled off Tennison. Mares, who had been on second, ran home, boosting the score to a healthier 5-3. Then Leah Estrada followed in the batting rotation. Mata stole second. Estrada doubled, and Mata ran home.
Score was 6-3. Mata didn’t celebrate.
This was getting it
done. This was Apache momentum. Junior catcher Katelyn Estep then slammed a triple, sending Estrada home. And Alyssa Montejano singled and sent Cassandra Acosta, running for Estep, home.
“That was a good feeling,” Mata said. “I knew I had to take all the chances I could.”
Sanger, the No. 8 seed, faced Monache in the first round of the California Interscholastic Federation Central Section Division II playoffs. The winner got the chance to face No. 1 Kingsburg on May 9.
Estrada said the sequence, the one-two punch, she and Mata brought in the bottom of the sixth boosted the team’s confidence. “I just always hope to bring in runs,” she said. “I think it brought them up. They’re an amazing group of girls.”
The reporter can be contacted by email at nemethfeatures@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
While that didn’t quite materialize, Mata kept her head and delivered in the sixth.
The score had been tied at 3 when freshman Janiece Gallardo singled
to open the sixth inning for the Apaches. Then Janessa Montejano, who apparently wanted to bring some immediate clarity to the game, blasted a triple, sending Natalya Pasillas
home. Pasillas ran for Gallardo.
But the score at 4-3 didn’t provide much of a buffer. And as Apache head coach Erica Pennington has said, “Anything can happen in
Volleyball team puts everything on the line in playoff race
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
The Apaches dispatched visiting Arroyo Grande in three games in the California Interscholastic Federation Central Section Division I quarter-finals May 2.
That was the easy part.
“Enjoy the win,” said Bryce Hayes, Sanger assistant coach after the win.
The hard part was Clovis, the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. Clovis beat Bullard 3-0 to advance along with Sanger to the semi-final Tuesday.
“You know what they are going to do,” said head coach Scott Okada. “It’s going to be a battle.”
Arroyo Grande, the No. 7 seed, got a taste of what Sanger brings to the court. The Apaches traveled a lot this year, honing talents
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Jesus Gomez delivers a blow to visiting Arroyo Grande.
last long. Sanger wanted to capitalize on wins of the first two sets, both 25-18.
Brennan Taylor, a sophomore Apache, delivered a kill of his own to answer McCune’s, and from there on Sanger dominated, winning the final set 25-20.
Jesus Gomez, Ethan Ly, Aidyn Jalao, Grant Harrison and Kennedy Navo expressed their team’s dominance in the game by dishing out a substantial number of kills during the three sets. And the back court dug deep to prevent scores by the visiting Eagles.
Ly described the style of play this way. “We went with something light,” he said. “Light but playing smart and bringing good energy on the court.” And he explained, “Light means relaxing a little. But still playing (hard.)”
The Eagles’ rally in the
final set did get under his skin a bit, Ly said.
But the outcome was assured. “We just knew we had to play to win,” said John Her, the team’s setter. “Everybody had to do their job and just focus on taking out this opponent.”
Jalao said remaining focused and prepared will be his mantra for the rest of the playoffs. And on on the game with the Eagles, he said, “I just took it one point at a time.”
Gomez said his back is feeling better and he’s been doing some stretches. And he said taller teams are not a problem. “That doesn’t bother me,” he said.
Taylor explained a move he successfully executed a number of times against Arroyo Grande where he jumps high as if he’s delivering a kill (a shot that the other team can’t hit back). But the difference
was that Brennan didn’t use force. He was downright gentle when he dropped the ball on the other side of the net and got the point.
“It’s just pressing,” he said. “So it’s just straight down. It’s like super quick. Usually it’s a softball.”
Sophomore Alan Ly was definitely ready to continue through the playoffs. “We have more all-around players,” he said. And Ly said the excitement level was high. “It’s crazy. My seniors and upperclassmen leading. I’ll bring it next year.”
A dynasty?
“Of course,” Alan Ly said. Only time will tell.
The reporter can be contacted by email at nemethfeatures@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
in tournaments with some of the best teams in the country. And, although not especially big or tall, the varsity players learned how to be effective. And the playoff win against the Central Coast team proved especially karmic after the football team lost at the school to close out the season late last year.
The Eagles, on average, appeared to have several inches in height on the Apaches. But that didn’t matter. When Arroyo Grande freshman Josh McCune pounded a kill on the Sanger side of the net in the third set, the Eagles finally led for the first time of the night, 17-16.
But the comeback didn’t