Page 14 - Dinuba Sentinal 3-29-18 E-edition

B8 | Thursday, March 29, 2018
Sports
The Dinuba Sentinel
In addition to pitching 13 innings over two games on Monday, Dinuba junior Kirsten Martinez also provided power on offense, hitting a monster homerun in a 7-0 victory over El Diamante and a double and an RBI in the Lady Emps 4-3 win over Sanger.
Lady Emps’ catcher Jordynn Acevedo had a big game on Monday against the Sanger Apaches. The Dinuba High sophomore went 3 for 3 at the plate, including a 2-run homer to tie the game. She also made a critical play on defense, tagging out a Sanger runner at home (above) in what would have been a go-ahead run for the Apaches.
Cal Ripken league opens new eld
Track
Continued from Page B1
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
Lady Emps
single.
Then, with two outs, Sanger’s
pitcher Valerie Ruiz walked two consecutive batters to give Dinuba a golden opportunity by loading the bases. Up to bat came Dinuba junior Felicity Morales.
Ruiz buckled down to jump ahead early and Morales got caught looking on a 1-2 pitch to end the inning, leaving three runners stranded on base. “We missed some opportunities,” said Patterson.
Martinez, who pitched both games, got back on track in the second inning by getting three straight outs, on two strikeouts and a ground out. Dinuba then stranded another runner in the bottom of the inning.
Sanger’s first three batters of the third inning would each get hits, resulting in two runs scored to extend the Apaches’ lead to 3-0. Martinez was able to stop the bleeding by getting three straight outs to close the inning.
Dinuba’s Acevedo would reach base again to open the bottom of the third, this time on an error when her short grounder dribbled away from Ruiz’s glove near the mound. But Dinuba would once again leave a runner stranded after going three-and- out in their next at bats.
“You can’t let up,” said Patterson. “Against good teams you can’t take pitches off, you cant take plays off, you can’t take opportunities off. That’s what we’re working on here.”
The Lady Emperors finally got on the board in bottom of the fourth inning. Dinuba’s lead off, Morales, was able to get on base with a shot to deep center field. Two batters later, a called balk on Ruiz would advance Morales to third base, where a sacrifice grounder by Martinez sent her
Continued from Page B1
home for the Lady Emperors’ first run of the game.
Martinez would then see four batters in the fifth inning, allowing only one hit to keep Dinuba within striking distance. That strike would come in the team’s first two at-bats in the bottom of the inning.
Junior Kayla Villarreal would provide the lead-off runner with a shot over Sanger’s shortstop for a single. Acevedo would then come to
the plate for a
third time. And
for a third time
in the game,
Acevedo would
make contact.
Acevedo, in fact, made solid contact with the ball this time. Her hit sailed deep into left field, and this time, it easily cleared the yellow bumpers for a two-run homer, tying the game at 3-3. It was Acevedo’s first career homerun.
“I thought
it was just
going to be a little short again,” admitted Acevedo after the game about her first homerun. “I’ve been itching for it since forever, since my freshman year. So it feels good.”
Though Dinuba’s next three batters grounded out, the Lady Emperors found themselves in a good position going into tail end of the game. And being that tournament play only allows for a certain allotted time for each game, the long game against the
Apaches would now come to one last inning, the sixth.
Dinuba needed a defensive stop to truly change the tides and Martinez, pitching her 13th inning of the day, did just enough to keep the inning scoreless. She allowed one hit in the inning, to lead-off hitter Emily Fortaney. She followed that with a strike out and then threw out the next Sanger batter at first on a bunt attempt.
With Fortaney now at second base with two outs, a hit by Sanger’s Stephanie Herring into shallow center field forced Fortaney to round third. Behind home plate was Acevedo, who hauled in the relay throw in just enough time to make the tag at home for the final out.
A score now would win the game for the Lady Emperors. Up
first for Dinuba was Morales, whowasatthispoint1for2at the plate. She was able to get on base after being walked and then quickly found herself advancing after teammate Carlee Newlin singled on a dribbler up the third-base-line.
Martinez was up next to bat and had gone 1 for 2 with a sacrifice grounder. A wild first pitch advanced Morales and Newlin. One pitch later, Sanger’s coaching staff elected
to give Martinez first base in an intentional walk to load the bases and create a force-out at any base.
In to bat was Dinuba’s pitch runner Bailee Garza, who aside from a couple pinch runs had spent most of the day on the bench. According to Patterson, the senior had recently been struggling at the plate but it seemed the right time to put her in.
After falling behind 1-2, Garza found her pitch and made contact, floating one over second base to bring in Morales for the go-ahead, and winning run.
“I think these girls showed that even down 3-0, and not having momentum in that game... I think they showed that we can battle back,” said Patterson. “We can score runs, we can keep grinding... I think that’s a big step for us to be able to beat a team like Sanger, who has a good squad.”
The two wins on Monday gave the Lady Emperors a 10-1 overall record, which currenly makes them the top team in the Central Section’s Division III.
Suprisingly enough, however, that record is good enough for only second place in the Central Seqouia league as Exeter is currently sporting a 17-1 overall record. Central Valley Christian is right behind Dinuba with a 10-2 overall record.
The Lady Emperors were to play two more games on Tuesday, one at 9 a.m. and the other at 1 p.m. Victories in both those games would have put Dinuba in the championship game. Results to Tuesday’s games were not yet available at the time of publication.
Dinuba’s next game will be Tuesday at home against Kerman at 6 p.m.
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
“I think these girls showed that even down 3-0, and not having momentum in that game... I think they showed that we can battle back. We can score runs, we can keep grinding...”
— Bryan Patterson Dinuba High softball coach
a throw of 27’2.5”. Vela also took fourth place in the discus event with a throw of 87’2.25”.
On the track, Dinuba sophomore Luz Diaz finished in seventh place in the 400-meters race with a time of 1:07.00, a season record for her. In the 800-meters race, Dinuba had two finishers in the top five, with junior Ariel Echeveste taking third place with a personal record time of 2.36.57 and sophomore Jackie Delgado also setting a personal record of 2:37.39, good enough for fifth place.
In long distance, the Lady
Emperors had two finishers in the top ten. Delgado finished in sixth place in the 1600-meters race with a time of 5:41.07, a personal record for her, and sophomore Jasmine Jorge took ninth place in the 3200-meters race with a time of 13:17.92.
The girls’ team finished in the middle of the pack in Friday’s meet, finishing in 10th place out of a field of 16 teams.
The Dinuba track team will be traveling to Clovis on Saturday as they compete in the West Coast Relays at Buchanan High. The meet will begin at 9 a.m.
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
Matchups
Dinuba High sophomore Isaiah Ochoa attempts a drag- bunt in the Emperors’ 10-7 come-from-behind victory over Caruthers last Friday. Ochoa went 2 for 3 at the plate and provided two runs for the Emperors.
Baseball Continued from Page B1
Dinuba Cal Ripken Jr. Yankees’ catcher Noah Montejano prepares to catch the inagrual first pitch from league commissioner Jose Guido. The league held their first home games at their new field at KC Park. The park was made possible through a $15,000 youth grant from the city of Dinuba.
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
Saturday, March 31
Dinuba Track and Field at West Coast Relays at Buchanan High School at 9 a.m.
Tuesday, April 3
DinubaJVandVarsitySoftball vs Kerman at 4 & 6 p.m.
Dinuba Boys Tennis vs Immanuel at 4 p.m.
Wednesday, April 4
Dinuba Frosh Baseball vs Golden West at 4 p.m.
Dinuba JV and Varsity Baseball vs Immanuel at 4 & 7 p.m.
Dinuba Track and Field at Central Sequoia League Meet at Immanuel at 4 p.m.
Dinuba Swimming vs Kingsburg at 4 p.m.
Orosi JV and Varsity Baseball vs Farmersville at 4 p.m.
Orosi JV and Varsity Softball vs Farmersville at 4 p.m.
In stepped Escobedo, who came away with another clutch base hit, this one a double over the head of Caruther’s right fielder that brought in both Olmos and Cortez for the go-ahead run.
Dinuba’s next batter, Mayberry, then put the crowd on their feet as he drove a ball deep to left field. The ball looked to have plenty of air under it, however, it ended up bouncing off the outfield fence. The hit brought in Escobedo to give the Emperors a 9-7 lead. Mayberry then came home on another base hit by Cortez,
where officials called the game due to tournament time rules, giving Dinuba the 10-7 victory.
Their tournament play continued on Monday where they fell to Firebaugh in the final innings, losing 3-2, and then capping off the day with a 7-3 manhandling over Liberty High.
Dinuba’s tournament play continued on Tuesday, however that took place after publication.
The Emperors will be hosting Immanuel on Wednesday, April 4. That game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
Josh Escobedo
DINUBA High SCHOOL BASEBALL
Dinuba High sophomore Josh Escobedo was named Athlete of the Week for his performance in Friday's opening game of the Fowler Easter Classic. Escobedo went two for three against Caruthers, including a double late in the game that helped rally the Emperors to a 10-7 victory. He n- ished with two hits and four RBIs.
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