Page 14 - Dinuba Sentinel E-edition 5-17-18

B8 | Thursday, May 17, 2018 Emperors
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all of which came on two outs. With two runners on for Dinuba, Isaiah Ochoa and Cosper, junior Ridge Huckaby cleared the bases with shot into left field that fell just in front of Kingsburg’s defender.
Dinuba’s Martinez then loaded the bases with an infield line drive that was mishandled by Kingsburg’s shortstop. From there Olmos and Huckaby would drive in two more runs to give the Emperors a 7-1 lead.
The Emperors’ starting pitcher, Ochoa, gave up two runs in the third inning but Dinuba’s offense got those runs back in the bottom of the inning, as they once again took full advantage of a bases-loaded situation and came through with another two- out rally.
“We have this thing called quality at bat,” said Morrelli. “Our guys have really done a good job of buying into that.”
Ochoa began to find his grove in the fourth inning, seeing only four batters in the fourth and fifth innings and five in the sixth.
“He’s Mr. Consistent,” said Morrelli of Ochoa. “Even when he’s not at his best he still finds ways to just compete.”
Ochoa nearly pitched the
Lady Emps
Sports
Dinuba High School senior Elijah Mayberry, seen here getting a basehit against Exeter last Friday, was recently named the Emperors’ Most Valuable Player. He scored three runs in Dinuba’s 11-4 first round playoff victory against Kingsburg on Tuesday.
Track
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The Dinuba Sentinel
Division II.
Sandoval is currently the No. 7 ranked shot
putter in the Valley, with a personal record throw of 52’05”.
Dinuba High long-distance runner Jonathan Padilla will also be competing at this Saturday’s Masters competition after placing fourth in
the 3200-meters race with a time of 9:52.74 at the Valley competition.
According to Lichtenwaldt, though this may be the fewest Dinuba High athletes to move on to Masters, collectively this has been Dinuba’s best year.
“This is a special team,” said Lichtenwaldt. “We scored points in nearly every event... It was a team championship, not just on the back of one athlete. It’s really nice to see the whole team come together. This may be the highest team points scored by Dinuba at Valley yet.”
Dinuba High sophomore Yazmine Villareal Harris will represent the only Lady Emperor at this weekend’s Masters. She moved on by placing third in the shot put event, with a throw of 34.09, and second in the discus event, with a throw of 108’09”.
At only a sophomore, Yazmine has led the CSL in the shot put event for the past two years. She is currently the 16th ranked shot putter in the Valley.
Saturday’s Masters competition will be held at Buchanan High School in Clovis. The meet begins at 3 p.m.
Orosi High junior Valentine Quevedo had three RBI’s and one run scored in the Cardinals’ first inning of last Thursday’s game.
entire game, but was taking out in the seventh inning with two outs because of pitch count limits. Closing the game out was Dinuba senior Mikey Curiel, who got the only batter he faced to fly out to centerfield for final out of the game.
“We tell these guys ‘When you guys are at your best and playing loose and team ball you’re a really exciting team to watch’,” said Morrelli. “We just got to keep doing this, a little better every game.”
Dinuba’s victory over Kingsburg earned them a quarterfinals away game against
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Independence of Bakersfield, the No. 2 seed. The Falcons are one of the hottest teams in high school baseball, having won their last 14 games. Their last defeat came against Mt. Whitney on Mar. 28.
“Baseball is one of those funny sports, anything can happen,” said Morrelli. “And I think our guys are starting to believe that.”
Tomorrows game will start at 4:30 p.m. at Independence High in Bakersfield. If the Emperors were to come away with a victory, their next game would be played on Tuesday on the field of the highest seeded team.
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
But Martinez’s best event is the 300-meters hurdles, an event he is currently ranked No. 2 in the Valley in and No. 12 in the State. The No. 1 ranked 300-meters hurdler in the Valley is Clovis’ Jake Woods, who Martinez has gone neck-and-neck with all season long. Woods personal record time in the event is 38.27 seconds, while Martinez’s best
is 38.37 seconds.
On May 19, Martinez will get another chance at Woods at the Masters, the two will go head up again in both the 300-meters and 110-meters hurdles events. Martinez will also be competing in the long jump event.
Said Emperors’ track coach Lucas Lichtenwaldt of Martinez, “Meet after meet he just continued to impress. He just stepped up from one meet to another.”
Teammate Nathaniel Medina will also be competing in the 300-meter hurdles event at the Masters. Medina, a sophomore, was the seventh place finisher at last week’s Valley competition, setting a personal record of 42.72 seconds. This will be Medina’s first Masters’ competition.
Also moving on to the Masters competition will be Dinuba High School senior Alex Sandoval, who will be competing in the shot put event. Sandoval is the Central Sequoia League’s reigning shot put champion, having dominated the league for the past two years and once again claiming the top spot in both league and
“This is a special team. We scored points in nearly every event... It was a team championship, not just on the back of one athlete. It’s really nice to see the whole team come together.”
— Lucas Lichtenwaldt Dinuba High School track coach
into the seventh inning scoreless, Dinuba came up empty on their first two at-bats, leaving it up to Manning to rally the team.
A blast by Manning to deep left center field put her in scoring position.
Up to bat came Dinuba High junior Felicity Morales.
“All I can think about really was I have to get Kaily in,” said Morales. “Even before I was like, if she gets on base I’m getting her in.”
Sure enough, Morales ripped one up the middle to send Manning home and give the Lady Emps their first, and only, run of the game.
But Dinuba had been in this position before against Exeter. In their last matchup on April 24, the Lady Emps took a 5-1 lead deep into the late innings against the Monarchs, only to see the lead diminish to just two runs as Exeter rallied late.
On Friday, it appeared the Monarchs would once again rally after also putting
together a series of two-out singles.
First Exeter’s Haylee Medrano got on with a base hit to right field and then teammate Zoie Belk was able to get on after Dinuba shortstop Alexa Garcia juggled a groundball. But with two runners on and two outs in the inning, the Monarch’s next hit went straight to Morales at third base. She was able to tag out Medrano for the final out of
the game.
Said Dinuba High softball coach Bryan
Patterson after Friday’s victory, “We can win a 13-inning game 3-2. We can beat Selma 8-2 and win a high-scoring game and then we can win a 1-0 game. I think these girls are starting to believe that.”
With the win, and Kingsburg victory over Selma on Friday, the Lady Emps earned a share of the league title with the Vikings, both teams finishing 8-2 in the CSL. They also secured the No. 1 seed in the Division III playoffs, earning them a first round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
“I’m proud,” said Patterson as he gathered his emotions after the game. “I’m very proud. This means a lot.”
This is Patterson’s sixth year as the Dinuba High softball coach and his first league title. He was recently named the Central Sequoia League’s Coach of the Year for a second year in a row.
The Lady Emps will host a quarterfinals round game tomorrow afternoon at Dinuba High. They will take on the winner between Liberty High, out of Madera, and Kerman. Tomorrow night’s game is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m.
Dinuba High School junior Kirsten Martinez, right, earned her 17th victory of the season with a 1-0 shutout over Exeter on Friday. The win made her the winningest pitcher in the Central Sequoia League.
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
Knights win Silver Bracket at Fresno Softball Tournament
Contributed
The OC Knights 12U traveling softball team, made up of players from Dinuba, Orosi, Orange Cove, Sanger and Reedley, won the silver bracket at a softball tournament held in Fresno on May 5-6. The Knights struggled on the opening day, going 1-2 on Saturday to put them in the consolation bracket. But they stepped it up on their final day of play, going 3-0 and beating the Clovis Rockets in the championship game. The team is coached by Manuel Castillo and assistants Steve Estrada and Anthony Summers.
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Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
league record and tied for third place with Summit Charter Collegiate Academy.
Though the Cardinals finished tied with the Bears in the final ESL standings, Orosi received the higher seeding for the Central Section’s Division VI playoffs with the No. 10 spot. Summit received a No. 15 seeding.
The Cardinals’ first round of playoffs began on Tuesday as they traveled to take on Strathmore.
League rival Orange Cove, who finished the ESL in second place with a league record of 12-2, received the No. 4 seed in the division playoffs. League champions McFarland, though they finished undefeated in
league play, received a the No. 8 seed in the Central Section’s Division V playoffs.
Orosi falls to Strathmore in
Opening Round
The Orosi Cardinals’ baseball season ended on Tuesday after suffering a 4-0 loss to Strathmore.
The Cardinals were down just 1-0 in the fifth inning and had runners in scoring position most of the game but failed to knock any in runs.
“We just couldn’t get the bats going,” said Orosi High assistant coach Jose Marroquin.