Page 8 - Dinuba Sentinel E-edition 5-16-19

Sports
“We had to be executing on fast breaks and play one possession at a time.”
DHS basketball player Luke Rodriguez
The Dinuba Sentinel
Heading back to
B1
Thursday, May 16, 2019 DHS Softball
Juliana Flores rips a two-run double against Liberty-Madera Ranchos as Dinuba moves on to the Central Section Division III Champiosnhip game against Templeton on Saturday.
George M. Villagrana | The Dinuba Sentinel
The Dinuba High softball team will be heading back to Fresno State’s Margie Wright Diamond to play for the Central Section Division III Championship.
The No. 1 seed Emperors will face No. 2 Templeton on Saturday at noon after putting away visiting Liberty-Madera Ranchos on Tuesday night, 4-2. The Eagles advanced to the finale after pounding Selma, 16-5.
Dinuba (24-6) trailed 2-0 against the Hawks but in the bottom of the third Alexa Garcia’s double scored Riley Bautista to cut the deficit, 2-1.
DHS Baseball
Margie Wright
Diamond
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Emperors’ Kayla Villareal hit a liner off the glove of Liberty third baseman, Lauren Chapman. The ball trickled past Chapman as Villareal bolted to second base. Erica Flores followed with an infield hit. With one out, Garcia was intentionally put on first to load the bases for Juliana Flores. The senior first baseman launched a two-run double giving Dinuba a 3-2 lead. Kirsten Martinez’s fielders choice scored another run. The Emperors missed out on a golden opportunity to possibly add to their lead hitting into a double play.
See Diamond, Page B6
By George M. Villagrana
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
Dinuba ousted by Firebaugh
By George M. Villagrana
the inning. Dinuba’s defense couldn’t execute a potential inning ending double play as Christian Solano scored the game’s first run. With two outs, Jeshua Gutierrez drove in two runs on a single to centerfielder Corey Cosper.
“Justin got the ground ball he needed but we couldn’t turn the double play,” Morrelli said. “We almost got out of that.”
The Emperors found themselves down 3-0 heading into the top of the third inning. With one out, Dinuba’s Elijah Lozoya and Sid Chavarin each drew a walk. With runners on first and second base, Isaiah Ochoa hit a double to score Lozoya. After a walk by Jacob Marroquin to load the bases, Chavarin
DHS Track and Field
was picked off at third for the second out. Ochoa managed to get to third base but Firebaugh’s Joey Ochoa escaped the inning as Cosper grounded out.
“If we had one out, we would’ve had a chance to tie the score with a runner at third,” Morrelli said. “We made a mistake.”
With two outs in the top of the fourth inning, Dinuba put a runner on first and second base but were turned away when Lozoya grounded out.
In the bottom half of the frame, Firebaugh mounted a two-out rally as A. Ramirez hit a home run for a 4-1 lead. The Eagles then hit a string of three
See Dinuba, Page B6
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
The Dinuba High baseball team’s post season came to an end as the Emperors dropped a 7-4 game on the road to Firebaugh on May 1 in a Central Section Division III playoff game.
The Emperors end the season with an overall record of 11-13-2.
“It just didn’t go our way,” said coach Brent Morrelli.
Firebaugh loaded the bases in the bottom of the second as two batters got hit by a pitch and another drew a walk off Emperor starter Justin Gonzalez. walk. Gonzalez managed to strikeout Jackson Correia for the first out of
Solo flight for Diaz
George M. Villagrana | The Dinuba Sentinel
Estevan Diaz will be the lone Dinuba High representative at Saturday’s Central Section Track and Field Championships at Buchanan.
Diaz stepped up big time at the East Area Qualifying meet as the junior finished third overall in the shot put with a personal best throw of 50-feet-2 inches.
Later in the meet, Diaz finished 13th in the discus with a mark of 120.
Luke Rodriguez had a solid fourth quarter as the East all-star team defeated the West all-stars on Saturday at Bullard High School.
Rodriguez helps
By George M. Villagrana
Devon Mendoza finished seventh in the 300 intermediate hurdles in a time of 43.55 and he was eighth in the 110 hurdles in 17.16. Mendoza ran the anchor leg of the 4x100 meter relay team that finished ninth in a time of 45.34. Joining Mendoza were Michael Wilson, Angel Lopez and Francisco Alburto.
Estevan Diaz, pictured above at a meet earlier this season, earned a spot to this weekend’s Central Section Track and Field Championships at Buchanan after placing third at the East Area Qualifying meet in Tulare.
the East all-star
team to a win
By George M. Villagrana didn’t last long as Rodriguez completed
Coach Lucas Lichtenwaldt said he is excited for Diaz entering Saturday’s championships.
“Everything is coming together for him this year,” said Lichtenwaldt. “He did what he had to do and it’s nice to see the hard work pay off.”
The overall winner of the event was Central Valley Christian’s Dirk Nelson, who also set a PR with a throw of 55-6 1/2. Also setting a personal record was Tulare’s Aaron Tejeda, who was second at 53-3.
Senior Jonathan Padilla came close to advancing as the senior finished fourth in the 1,600 in a time of 4 minutes, 38.02 seconds. Redwood’s Bailey Darnell posted a winning time of 4:25.40. Padilla also was fifth in the 3200 in 10:09.75. Ivan Mendez of Monache won that race in a time of 9:36.44.
Johnathan Padilla
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
For Dinuba High senior guard/ forward Luke Rodriguez, Saturday’s City/County All-Star basketball is the last time he will don a Dinuba High basketball jersey.
Rodriguez, along with other players ,took part in the annual basketball game held at Bullard High as some of the best in Fresno/Tulare and Kings counties has to offer.
As a member of the East all-star team, Rodriguez had a strong fourth quarter to spark a 91-79 win over the West all- stars at Bullard High.
“It was a good game,” said Rodriguez. “There was some good competition to play against.”
East coach Johnny Gonzalez of Liberty-Madera Ranchos said the game was very well played.
“Normally in all-star games you get blowouts. This game was evenly matched and both teams played great,” Gonzalez said.
The East had controlled most of the game fending off several surges by the West and in the fourth quarter, the West took a 71-69 lead on a basket by Riverdale’s Hareez Hussein. The lead
a 4-point play. He then followed with a steal and a layup to push the East lead back to six points, 77-71. The West struggled from the floor as they went nearly five minutes without scoring a field goal and trailed 85-72 with less than 4 minutes remaining.
The West broke the scoring drought with a basket from Greg Armstrong of Roosevelt. The West drew within six points, 85-79, with under 1:45 to play. The West could not draw any closer as the East’s Jordan Chavez of Reedley drained a pair of 3-pointers to close out the game.
“We knew it was going to be a close game,” Gonzalez said. “We had to play to win. Our rotation was great and everyone was happy with their playing time.”
A key for the East win was pushing the ball and executing the fast break.
“We had to be executing on fast breaks and play one posession at a time,” Rodriguez said of the fourth quarter.
Rodriguez scored the game’s first basket as the East controlled the first quarter and led 26-20. Up by as many
See Rodriguez, Page B6
Sentinel file photo
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
Diego Estrada competed in the 400 and finished eighth with a time of 53.48. Estrada also had posted a time of 2:09.25 for 16th place in the 800.
Yazmine Villareal Harris finished 15th in the discus event with a mark of 85-5, well off her personal best of 112-0 set at the Central Sequoia League Championships on May 1.