Page 9 - Dinuba Sentinel 6-14-18 E-edition

Sports
B1
“It’s been a blast. I got to play with the best players around. Also, having my coach at my side was awesome too.”
- Elijah Mayberry, Dinuba High Baseball All-Star
The Dinuba Sentinel
Mayberry starts for winning All-Stars team
Dinuba High alumnus will continue to play baseball at College of the Sequoias
In Saturday’s game, Mayberry played the first four innings of the game in left field and also represented the No. 2 batter in the lineup.
The Dinuba High School graduate went 1-for- 3 at the plate. In his first appearance, Mayberry cracked one high and deep into right field, but the East’s right fielder was able to make a break on the ball and provide the fly-out.
In the third inning, however, with his team now up 2-0, Mayberry connected once more, this time driving one deep into the gap in left- centerfield for a standup double.
From there, he was able to steal third, collecting his 34th stolen base of this season. Though his team was not able drive him in that inning, the West would continue to have success swinging the bat. Mayberry’s hit was one of many for the West, as collectively they out-hit the East 10-4.
Many of those hits came after Mayberry’s
See Mayberry, Page B6
Thursday, June 14, 2018 High School Baseball
Dinuba’s Elijah Mayberry capped off his senior season this past Saturday with an All-Stars victory. Mayberry was part of the starting lineup of the All-Stars West team that beat the East 9-3 at Rawhide Stadium in Visalia. It was his second All-Stars start of the post season, as he also started in Fresno’s City vs. County game last week at Chukchansi Park.
In addition to having played in two All-Stars games, Mayberry also had the honor of being named the Central Sequoia League’s Most Valuable Player for 2018.
Scho eld steps down as DHS AD
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
As a grand finale to his sports career at Dinuba High School, Elijah Mayberry saw his last game as an Emperor this past Saturday at the 58th Annual East vs. West High School All-Star Baseball Game.
Mayberry was in the starting line up for the West team, who beat the East 9-3 at Rawhide Stadium in Visalia. For the Dinuba High athlete, it was his second All-Stars appearance in as many weeks, as he also started in Fresno’s City vs. County All-Stars Game at Chukchansi Park the week prior.
“It’s been a blast,” said Mayberry of having played in two All-Stars games. “I got to play with the best players around. Also, having my coach at my side was awesome too.”
Dinuba High baseball coach Brent Morrrelli was an assistant coach in the East vs. West All- Stars Game.
Youth Baseball
By Rick Curiel
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
By Rick Curiel
Braves steal No. 1
seed in playo s
City’s Major Division Baseball playoffs begin tomorrow night
His teammate, Anthony Pompa, made it a 5-0 lead after grounding one off the second base bag, allowing Braves’ pitcher Armando Mejia to come home from third base.
On the mound, Mejia pitched a shutout into the bottom of the third inning. That’s when the Rangers finally got on the board, with Jason Gonzalez providing the first run for his team.
But the Braves continued to have success at the plate, and in the fourth inning quickly loaded the bases with a 5-2 lead. The bases were then cleared on a ball hit deep into the gap in outfield by Orosco, building an insurmountable lead for the Braves.
For Braves’ winning pitcher Mejia, the victory came as a special gift for him on a special day, as he earned the victory while pitching on his birthday.
With the 13-2 victory, the Braves, who came into the game as the No. 3 ranked team in the division, leapfrogged both the Dodgers and the Rangers to take the No. 1 seed in the upcoming playoffs.
Though all three teams finished the regular season with a 4-1 record, the
See Majors, Page B6
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
Though his tenure as Athletic Director for Dinuba High School only lasted four years, it was long enough to establish Jeff Schofield as the winningest AD in school history.
In those four years the Dinuba High athletes captured eight Valley titles in a variety of sports. Four of those Valley titles came last year when the Emperors captured section championships in Boys Soccer, Boys Track and Field, Boys Cross Country and Boys Tennis.
Schofield credits the recent success of Dinuba High athletics to a foundation that was already established when he took over in 2014.
“Thanks to good coaches,” said Schofield. “Our program, when I came in, it was already set up. People had already done a great job. And coaches and athletes have been doing a great job for years.”
As for the position, the Dinuba High alumnus said it was something he’s always wanted to do.
“It was something I always had an interest in doing,” said Schofield. “I felt like a brand new teacher the first year, learning the ropes and then doing it for the last four years.”
Prior to taking the role as the new Athletic Director, Schofield was a Dinuba High School math teacher and head coach for the boys varsity basketball team. It was a position he had for seven years, hired under then Principal Yolanda Valdez. And prior to taking his head coaching position, Schofield was a junior varsity coach for the Emperors.
Upon taking the new role as AD, Schofield stepped down from his head coaching position to focus on his new job.
The district then moved Dinuba High School junior-varsity boys basketball coach Edward Bedoya up to varsity. However, last year when Bedoya chose to step down from that position, Schofield stepped back in, putting an increased demand on him.
“It’s a really good job, I really enjoyed it,” said Schofield of his decision to step down as the AD. “Basically it came down to having that itch to still coach. This past year I did both and it was tough. I think the AD job deserves someone who can commit their full attention to that job.”
He added, “Trying to do both (basketball and AD), I don’t think was the right idea, so I made the decision. If I want to keep coaching then I have to come back to the classroom.”
Though tough as it was to do both jobs, Schofield said he had a lot of support from the staff at Dinuba High School, especially from principal Mike Roberts.
See Scho eld, Page B6
By Rick Curiel
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
The Braves took the upper hand in the Dinuba city Majors Division playoff race after defeating the unbeaten Rangers 13-2 last Friday at Felix Delgado Park.
For both teams, the No. 1 seed in the playoff brackets was at stake. The Rangers came into the game with a perfect 4-0 record. But just behind them were two teams, the Dodgers, whose victory last Tuesday put them at 4-1, and the Braves, who came into Friday’s matchup with a 3-1 record.
A victory for the Braves would spell a three-way tie for first in the Majors Division, meaning the No. 1 seed would go to the team with the greatest run differential.
Whether the fact was the driving force behind the Braves or not, they showed up to the game and turned up the offense by taking the early lead in the game and never looking back.
They took their first lead of the game on a sacrifice fly ball in the first inning. They added three more runs in the third inning, with one run coming in on a base hit by Brave Damian Orosco.
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
Braves’ pitcher Armando Mejia celebrated his birthday last Friday with a 13-2 victory over a previously undefeated Rangers team. The win gave the Braves the No. 1 seed in the Dinuba Majors Division baseball playoffs. A wild card game was played on Tuesday, with the first round starting tomorrow night at Roosevelt Park.
Youth Softball
Dinuba Majors Softball playo s begin tonight
Lady Yankees’ Savannah Peters lines up a hit during last Thursday’s Majors Softball regular season finale. After falling behind early to the No. 2 Lady Giants, the Lady Yankees rallied in the third and fourth innings to win the game 7-3. For the Lady Yankees it was their first victory of the season. They enter the playoffs tonight as the No. 5 seed and will play the Running Rebels, who are the No. 4 seed. The winner of tonight’s game will advance to the semifinals game on Monday against the Lady Dynamites.
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
Sentinel staff report
The playoffs begin tonight for six teams in Dinuba’s Majors Softball Division, with two first round games tonight at Felix Delgado Park.
Tonight’s first game starts at 6 p.m. and will feature the No. 4 team Running Rebels against the No. 5 team Lady Yankees. Prior to last week’s season finale games, the top two teams had already been locked up, with the undefeated Lady Dynamites taking the No. 1 seed, but the lower seeds were still up for grabs.
In their Thursday matchup, the Lady Yankees secured the No. 5 seed by upsetting the No. 2 team Lady Giants. After falling behind early in the game to the Lady Giants 3-1, the Lady Yankees managed to put together a six-run rally in the third and fourth innings to earn their first victory of the season.
“They’ve been the hot team lately,” said Dinuba Park and Community
Services Sports Coordinator Richard DeOcio. “They are definetely a team to watch out for.”
Tonight’s second game will feature the No. 3 Lady Dragons against Devastating Forces, the No. 6 team in the playoffs. That game is scheduled to start at 7:45 p.m., also at Felix Delgado Park.
Both the Lady Dynamites and Lady Giants received first round byes and will await the winners of tonight’s matchups. The Lady Dynamites will host the winner between the Running Rebels and Lady Yankees in Monday night’s semifinals.
The Lady Giants will face the winner between the Lady Dragons and Devastating Forces, also on Monday. The semifinals will also be played at Felix Delgado Park.
Currently the championship game is scheduled for June 22 at 7 p.m., however, according to DeOcio the date may be subject to change based on who makes it to the title game.